Russian oligarch transfers wealth to children to avoid sanctions

Russian oligarch transfers wealth to children to avoid sanctions

The Guardian reveals that just weeks before the invasion of Ukraine, Roman Abramovich transferred billions of dollars to his children.

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich transferred billions of dollars to his children to avoid sanctions in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, The Guardian newspaper said on Friday, January 6. According to information from the British daily newspaper, just a few weeks before the invasion of Ukraine, ten trusts were “quickly reorganized in early February 2022” in favor of this oligarch. “These changes made Abramovich’s seven children, the youngest 9 years old, beneficiaries of at least $4 billion in assets held in these trusts,” the newspaper said. Nothing about this restructuring is illegal.

These assets would include real estate, yachts, helicopters and private jets. They would now be difficult to confiscate or freeze as the children of the oligarch, former owner of English football club Chelsea, are unaffected by the sanctions, even if authorities could prove the billionaire is the one who actually controls them.

Abramovich was not sanctioned by the United States

The documents obtained by the Guardian stem from the hacking of a financial institution managing Abramovich’s trusts in Cyprus, the daily says. The European Union and the United Kingdom included the oligarch in March 2022 on the list of people sanctioned for their affiliation with the Moscow regime. […] Continue reading

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