Roman Abramovich under investigation in Jersey over corruption and money-laundering claims | Roman Abramovich

According to the court documents, the former Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich is a criminal investigation on allegations of corruption and money laundering in connection with the original source of his billion by Jersey officials.

The information appeared from the Federal Criminal Court in Switzerland, where the judges ordered the release of more than one Swiss bank account requested by the Jersey Chief Public Prosecutor.

Channel Island officials are fighting companies in the Swiss courts as part of their investigations about their great reserve. The crown addiction, which Abramovich pumps some of his money to the West, froze more than $ 7 billion (£ 5.2 billion) of the suspected assets that Russia was attached to him shortly after the occupation of Ukraine.

According to the Swiss decisions, Jersey inspectors are investigating the origin of Oligochch’s reserve in the 1990s and 2000s during the chaotic, freely rising rise of capitalism in Russia.

Abramovich rejected the allegations through his lawyers and said that their suggestions were incorrectly involved in the crime activity.

Lawyers acting for companies were trying to prevent the publication of documents related to their Swiss bank accounts. His objections were rejected in May, and Swiss judges said that Jersey had sufficient evidence to justify delivery of documents.

Copies of the decisions revealed how Jersey made his request to Switzerland in connection with two different issues.

First, the Russian government in 2005 for 13 billion dollars of oil and gas company Sibneft’s Abramovich by Abramovich in connection with sales revenues is suspected. The decisions said, “The former Chelsea property owner claims that he made corruption payments in the 1990s,” he said.

Secondly, after Russia’s occupation of Ukraine in 2022, Jersey was placed in the list of sanctions after being placed in the list of potential sanctions, including the transfer of assets suspected to be bound to the oligarchy.

Jersey is one of the tax parades that control companies in Switzerland, which is directed by Abramovich, using the network accounts in Switzerland.

Public information about the case is limited. In 2023, a court decision, Jersey’s economic crime and confiscation unit investigated suspicious violations, but did not mention any investigation into Sibneft.

Although the Swiss decisions anonymizing names, they explain other details about the parties and conditions.

The judges decided that these details could be explained because the existence of the judiciary against Abramovich was already known.

Abramovich, an orphan from the Komi Republic in the frozen north of Russia, rose to the oil and gas merchant from the repairman to the owner of a company with licenses to exploit some of the most valuable gas reserves of Russia.

In 2005, he sold his control stake to Sibneft to the Russian government. The agreement pushed him to the ranks of the global super rich. Revenues formed the basis of his reserve, and Chelsea FC continued to invest in new business initiatives, hedge funds, luxury properties and modern European art collections.

Sibneft was the subject of a dispute widely reported with its former partner Boris Berezovsky, who ended a high -betting legal war in London’s Supreme Court in 2012.

Berezovsky filed a lawsuit against Abramovich and claimed that men had a partnership agreement to share the enormous renovations created by the formation of Sibneft. Abramovich claimed that there was no official agreement, as well as other things.

During the hearing, Abramovich also claimed that he had paid hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange for Berezovsky, a well -linked businessman to obtain political impact and protection for his commercial interests. Krysha. It literally means “roof ve and is used to refer to protection or protection in Russia. The judge was found for Abramovich.

The Swiss decisions requested a series of mutual legal assistance by the Jersey Attorney General to obtain banking documents from Switzerland. Requests were made between June 2022 and May 2023.

Anonymized decisions, he says: “G is claimed to make corruption payments (allegedly (allegedly Krysha) In the 1990s, he sold his shares for $ 3 billion and $ 13 billion, respectively in order to maintain R in the Russian company or to ensure the survival of G and I businesses in 200 and 2005. “

The details show that “G” is a reference to Abramovich, H – Berezovsky and Ben Sibneft. Jersey officials believe that the money is entering various bank accounts that Oligarch is beneficial. “Jersey accuses G G of laundering money in this context,” he says.

In addition, when Abramovich was included in the list of sanctions by Jersey on March 10, 2022, they also investigate the financial transactions carried out when companies have been traded indirectly under their controlled assets and continue to provide financial services by violating sanction laws. Sanction violations In Jersey, prison crime can be punished for imprisonment or fines.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich was sanctioned by a number of European countries.

England, whose sanctions to Russia automatically applied by Jersey, justified by defining its decision as one of a series of oligarchs. “Closely associated” To the Putin regime.

According to Swiss decisions, lawyers Jersey’s investigation for companies in disagreement was “politically motivated”. The objections made in 2024 asked the Jersey officials about “until 2022 and expect the Jersey officials to open an investigation about the claim that they should be aware of the last since 2012 since 2012”. Judges rejected their objections.

Swiss judges decided that Jersey had sufficient evidence to confirm the claim of money laundering as a bribery.

As a result: “Through various open marine companies, including billions of dollars assets, Switzerland, transnational transnation without a noticeable economic reason.

“Such actions will prevent the identity, discovery or confiscation of assets. As the complainant claims, it cannot be evaluated at this point whether the beings are of legal origin;

Jersey Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, said they could not comment on live investigations. Swiss law firm who appealed on behalf of companies was approached for a comment.

In a statement, Abramovich’s lawyers rejected the allegations and said that their clients were not accused of any crime.

“Any suggestion that Mr. Abramovich participated in the criminal activity is wrong,” he said. “There was no accusation against our customer and there is no criminal proceedings containing our client in Jersey, the Jersey Court actually confirmed that there was no criminal proceedings against our client before the Jersey courts.”