Oligarch wars: Jewish billionaire Roman Abramovich returns to Russia after UK visa 'expires'

Ben Glaze
UK Mirror
Tue, 22 May 2018 12:34 UTC

© REUTERS

Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich has gone home after his UK visa ran out, it has emerged.

The London-based billionaire did not attend Saturday's FA Cup final at Wembley, when his team beat Manchester United 1-0.

Reports suggest the 51-year-old oil and gas tycoon returned to his native country last month when his visa expired.

Without updated paperwork he would be unable to come back to Britain, where he has a massive home and business interests.

Last night there was speculation the visa renewal was being dragged out amid pressure on the Government to take a tougher approach to rich foreign oligarchs.

The riddle follows growing UK-Moscow diplomatic tensions over the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.

The office of yacht-loving Mr Abramovich, who is thought to be close to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and split from his third wife Dasha last autumn, refused to discuss personal matters.

But a source said he was renewing his permission to live in Britain and it was taking a little longer than usual.

Tory MP Bob Seely, who sits on the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and has quizzed witnesses on Russia, said of the visa delay: "Either there is an innocent explanation or the Government is becoming less sympathetic to Russian oligarchs in the UK.

"Either way, denying visas to oligarchs is potentially important."

Mr Abramovich, who took control of Chelsea in 2003, is said to be the 13th-richest man in Britain with a £9.3billion fortune.

He was expected to give evidence last week in a London court case between two other Russian oligarchs but did not appear as planned.

The Home Office declined to comment on his visa.

Comment: Abramovich will apparently have to explain to the UK government how he made his fortune in order to have his visa renewed.

An application for renewal has been lodged with the Home Office but sources close to Abramovich have said that the process is taking longer than usual. Number 10 said it would not comment on individual cases, but it was the "logical conclusion" that some rich individuals who had applied under the previous investment visa rules would no longer be eligible.

Abramovich - who is reportedly worth £9.3billion - would need to show that he has at least £2 million ($2.7mn) to invest in the UK from legal sources - a sum which shouldn't be an issue for the oligarch, who is listed by the 2017 Sunday Times Rich List as Britain's 13th-richest man. There has been no suggestion from the UK government that Abramovich earned his money unlawfully.

The Chelsea owner, an orphan and university drop out, made his wealth in the early 1990s in a series of oil export deals. He bought the Sibneft oil operation in 1995 with his business partner Boris Berezovsky. He also took over oil giant Sibneft at a fraction of its market value. In 2005, he sold his stake in Russian Aluminum to another Russian billionaire and a 73% stake in Sibneft to gas company Gazprom for $13 billion.

On Monday Russian officials complained that the UK was wielding the rejection of visas as a weapon in the political war between London and Moscow following recent tensions, which recently reached fever pitch over the Sergei Skripal poisoning and the UK's involvement in airstrikes against the Syria government.