Roman Abramovich, the Russian owner of Chelsea Football Club, has been “essentially forbidden from living in Britain.”
In the aftermath of the Salisbury poisonings by Russian operatives, the billionaire withdrew his application for a British Tier 1 investor visa and has not been seen at his Premier League football club’s south-west London home, Stamford Bridge, for months.
Senior UK security sources have told The Sun UK that Abramovic, 55, is unlikely to be allowed to settle in the United Kingdom again.
The UK government is apparently instructing immigration officers to make it hard for Abramovich, who owns a £125 million property near Kensington Palace, to settle in the country.
His case is being handled by the Government’s ‘Special Cases Unit,’ and it comes after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich was described as one of 35 oligarchs named by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as one of the country’s president Vladimir Putin’s “chief facilitators” this week by UK parliamentarians.
Abramovic adamantly rejects any ties to the Kremlin or any wrongdoing that would warrant sanctions against him.
Mr Abramovich became an Israeli citizen in 2018, allowing him to visit Britain for up to six months, and he used his Israeli passport to visit London last October.
According to sources, if he wants to stay in the UK permanently, he must apply for a permanent visa in writing.
“Any attempt would very probably be rejected,” a top source told The Sun.
In addition to his extensive real estate holdings, he also owns a number of superyachts, notably the £450 million Solaris, which is equipped with a missile detection system.
In 2003, he purchased Chelsea and converted the club from an outsider to a Premier League powerhouse.
Boris Johnson yesterday clarified a statement made in the House of Commons on Tuesday, February 21, that Abramovich had been officially sanctioned by the government.
The millionaire, according to the PM, “has not been the focus of targeted actions.”
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