Roman Abramovich received Portuguese citizenship | News from Germany about Russia | Dw

Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch and owner of London’s Chelsea football club, has become a Portuguese citizen. This was reported on Saturday, December 18, by the Portuguese newspaper Público, on the same day this information was confirmed to RBC and the Russian Forbes by representatives of the billionaire.

Abramovich became the richest citizen of Portugal

According to the Portuguese publication, Roman Abramovich was granted Portuguese citizenship as a descendant of Sephardic Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula. The naturalization process lasted from October 2020 to April 2021, as indicated below. Thus, Abramovich became the richest citizen of Portugal, writes Público further.

“Abramovich became a Portuguese citizen earlier this year thanks to the Portuguese Law of Return, which allows the descendants of Sephardic Jews and Converso Jews (forcibly converted to Christianity) to obtain Portuguese citizenship,” a spokesman for the billionaire’s asset manager, Millhouse, told RBC. In turn, a representative of the oligarch told Forbes that the oligarch studied the history of his family for many years and found, among other things, that part of it came from Portugal.

According to Forbes, Roman Abramovich ranks 12th in the list of the richest Russian businessmen, his fortune is estimated at $ 14.5 billion.

See also:

• How the Russian money laundering scheme worked

  “Global Laundry”

  According to documents obtained by the international organization of investigative journalists OCCRP, at least $ 20 billion was withdrawn from Russia in three years, but the real amount could be $ 80 billion. Journalists believe that about 500 people were involved in the corruption scheme, code-named Global Laundry, including oligarchs, bankers and individuals with FSB connections.

• 

  How the Russian money laundering scheme worked

  Fake firms

  Money laundering usually took place according to the following scheme: attackers registered abroad, for example, in the UK, two shell companies, the real owners of which were hiding behind a chain of offshore companies. Both companies existed only on paper. The authors of the investigation suggest that the same individuals were in fact behind both businesses.

• 

  How the Russian money laundering scheme worked

  Fictitious transactions

  The two firms then signed a loan agreement under which firm A borrows a large amount from firm B. In reality, the deal was fictitious, and firm A did not receive any money.

• 

  How the Russian money laundering scheme worked

  Russian companies as a guarantor

  The contract stipulated that commercial structures from Russia, which in almost all cases were headed by a citizen of Moldova, would act as the guarantor of the loan repayment. Firm “A” then declared itself insolvent, and obligations to repay the debt were automatically transferred to Russian companies.

• 

  How the Russian money laundering scheme worked

  Bribery judges

  Since a citizen of Moldova was at the head of the Russian firms, the claims had to be considered in a Moldovan court. Corrupt judges confirmed the existence of arrears and issued an order to collect the required amount from the guarantors. According to the investigation, more than 20 Moldovan judges were involved in the scheme. Some of them are now under investigation, while the rest have quit.

• 

  How the Russian money laundering scheme worked

  In the center of the scheme is the Moldovan Moldindconbank …

  Following the judgment, the bailiffs, who were also involved in the scheme, opened accounts with the Moldovan bank Moldindconbank. Russian companies had to transfer money to these accounts, thus closing the fictitious debt.

• 

  How the Russian money laundering scheme worked

  ..and Latvian bank Trasta Komercbanka

  Finally, the money was forwarded to the account of the “creditor company”, for the opening of which the Latvian bank Trasta Komercbanka was always chosen. Thus, the funds legalized by the Moldovan court ended up in the EU: the fraudsters could now dispose of the money at their own discretion and transfer it to accounts in other countries. Trasta Komercbanka’s license was recently revoked.

  Author: Alexandra Elkina

.