Abramovich bid to move to Switzerland ‘scuppered by fears of dirty money and crime links’
ROMAN Abramovich was last night forced to deny allegations of money laundering and links to crime groups.
It came amid claims that police in Switzerland feared the billionaire owner of Chelsea ‘posed a threat to public security’ if he became a resident of the country.
A leaked report from Swiss federal police is said to have declared that the Russian tycoon was known for ‘a suspicion of money laundering and presumed contacts with criminal organisations’.
There was reason to believe the oligarch’s assets were ‘at least partially of illegal origin’, they allegedly added. Their confidential assessment – made public yesterday after Mr Abramovich, 51, lost a legal battle to suppress it – apparently scuppered his application for Swiss residency, which he withdrew.
Mr Abramovich strenuously denies any connection to money laundering or underworld groups.
Police have not officially confirmed the leaked assessment – which did not result in charges.
Its publication is the latest blow to the beleaguered billionaire who earlier this year faced being effectively banned from Britain unless he could prove his vast wealth was legitimate. He was caught up in Whitehall’s war on super-rich oligarchs, launched in the wake of the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury.
Under new rules to stamp out ‘dirty money’ in May, Mr Abramovich found himself being treated as a ‘new applicant’ for a UK visa and having to demonstrate that his £9.3billion fortune was above board.
Now it has emerged his attempt to make the exclusive Alpine ski resort of Verbier his official home foundered after police advised he posed a ‘reputational risk’ to Switzerland.
Mr Abramovich – a close friend of Russian president Vladimir Putin – had applied for a permit to transfer his tax residency to the Swiss canton of Valais – which initially welcomed him on the basis he would make ‘a very interesting taxpayer’.
But when the Swiss federal police force, Fedpol, was consulted, it is said to have warned Mr Abramovich posed a risk if granted Swiss residency.
Its confidential report cautioned there were suspicions of money laundering and criminal organisations – and alleged an ‘illegal origin’ for at least some of his fortune.
It is not clear what information the police report was based on. Its claims have never been tested in any court and Mr Abramovich is entitled to be presumed innocent.
His lawyers demanded that police retract their ‘unsubstantiated’ claims – but this was rejected and the report was eventually leaked to investigative journalists.
Mr Abramovich’s Swiss lawyer, Daniel glasl, said he plans to file a criminal complaint against whoever spread the information.
He said: ‘We are extremely disappointed by the release and publication of confidential information from Swiss government files regarding Mr Abramovich, which occurred in clear violation of Swiss criminal law and Swiss data protection laws. Any suggestion that Mr Abramovich has been involved in money laundering or has contacts with criminal organisations is entirely false.’
Mr Abramovich rose from humble beginnings as an orphan to become the world’s 139th richest person – Britain’s 13th richest man – with a fleet of superyachts and private jets. The origins of his wealth lie in the tumultuous decade that followed the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 when he was drawn into a circle of businessmen close to the Kremlin.
Mr Abramovich eventually emerged as the joint-owner of the Sibneft oil group. There is no evidence he obtained his fortune unlawfully. He bought Chelsea in 2003 and has invested more than £1billion in the club. But he could not even watch his beloved team win the FA Cup in May because of his UK visa problems.
At the end of that month, he flew to Tel Aviv and left two days later with an Israeli passport. It allowed him travel to the UK for up to six months visa-free. Yesterday it was reported he wants to sell Chelsea for £3billion – the highest price ever for a sports team.
Mr Abramovich has educated five of his seven children in the UK and owns a £90million London mansion.
Abramovich can’t get back into Britain