Roman Abramovich, the Russian multi-billionaire who owns Chelsea Football Club, has been sanctioned by the UK government, resulting in all his UK assets being frozen.
The oligarch was one of seven wealthy Russians to have strict sanctions placed on them on Thursday in the latest clampdown on Russian assets following its invasion of Ukraine.
"There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine," Boris Johnson said.
"Today’s sanctions are the latest step in the UK’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people.
“We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals, and illegal occupation of sovereign allies," the PM added.
As well as Abramovich’s assets being frozen he will not be able to complete any transactions with UK businesses and individuals, while he will also be subject to a travel ban.
The government claimed Abramovich “has had a close relationship [with Putin] for decades” and obtained “financial benefit or other material benefit” from the Russian state, which the billionaire recently has denied.
The oligarch “is or has been involved in destabilising Ukraine and undermining [the country’s] territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence,” the UK government added.
Which of Roman Abramovich’s assets will be frozen?
Chelsea Football Club
The Russian had a minimum of £3.2bn of UK assets frozen, according to the Independent.
The sale of Chelsea, which was valued at £3bn, has been put on hold although the club can still be sold if Abramovich is happy for the UK government to handle the sale.
Chelsea is also forbidden from selling match tickets (both home and away), renewing player contracts, signing new players or loanees, and it has even been forced to shut its club shop.
Season ticket holders, who already have paid for all home Premier League games will be allowed to attend matches.
The club will still be able to pay staff and players and broadcasters will be allowed to show Chelsea matches.
Other impacts on the club include: any broadcast and prize money received must be frozen, merchandising sales may continue but the proceeds cannot go to Chelsea, and no stadium work or redevelopment can be done.
The club is also limited to £20,000 travel expenses per match and a £500,000 limit on security, stewarding, and catering costs per game.
A special licence was issued to the football club to allow them to continue playing football matches.
Nadine Dorries, British culture secretary, said: “Our priority is to hold those who have enabled the Putin regime to account.
“Today’s sanctions obviously have a direct impact on Chelsea and its fans.
“We have been working hard to ensure the club and the national game are not unnecessarily harmed by these important sanctions.”
Property
Abramovich listed his £150mln London home for sale last week, which is a 15-bedroom mansion at Kensington Place Gardens, but now it will not be allowed to be sold.
Meanwhile, the billionaire’s £22mln West London penthouse and £8.75mln flat in Cheyne Terrace, Chelsea, will also be subject to the sanctions.
Vehicles
As well as his UK-based properties, Abramovich also owns a fleet of supercars that are believed to be in the UK and are worth approximately £16mln.
Some of the most notable high-end vehicles include a Porsche 911 GT1 Evo, a Ferrari (NYSE:RACE) FXX, an Aston Martin Vulcan and a Maserati MC12 Corsa.
He also owns a Pagani Zonda R, of which only 15 have ever been produced.
The oligarch bought a £264mln Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet, the most expensive private jet in the world, in December 2021.
The 50-seater aircraft has a base cost of £188mln with £76mln of additional equipment, Forbes commented citing industry experts.although it is not thought that this jet is currently based in the UK.
Other assets
British-registered Millhouse Capital Ltd, which manages assets owned by Abramovich and his partners, is thought to also be impacted but it has not been confirmed.
Russian steel producer Evraz PLC (LSE:EVR) had its shares temporarily suspended by Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority at 11.00am on Thursday.
The London-listed steel giant, which boasts Abramovich as its largest shareholder with a 28.6% holding, could still be sold as its Russian-based.
Founder Alexander Abramov, Abramovich and three other oligarchs hold two-thirds of the company.
The company, which produced the steel for Russian tanks to aid its invasion of Ukraine, saw its shares sink 12% on Thursday morning prior to the temporary freeze.
Which of Abramovich’s assets will not be affected by the UK government’s sanctions?
Vehicles
The billionaire’s £448mln superyacht ‘Eclipse’ has been cruising in the Caribbean Sea near the British Virgin Islands for the past week.
Meanwhile, his £456mln newer yacht ‘Solaris’ was recently moved from Barcelona to the Mediterranean Sea, near Sicily.
Properties
When the oligarch’s British visa expired in 2018, he transferred ownership of 11 of his properties to Fordstam Ltd – the parent company of Chelsea, which is controlled by Abramovich, the Daily Mail said.
He also owns an £87mln detached villa in the French Riviera, named the Chateau de la Croe, which has previously hosted Winston Churchill, the Dailystar commented.
Meanwhile, adding to the Russian’s impressive collection of properties, he also has an £18mln Colorado ski ranch, a £54mln collection of Caribbean villas, and a £17mln Tel Aviv hotel.
Under UK sanctions, these Abramovich assets have not been frozen, but may soon be by the governments the assets are located in.
Other assets
The Cyprus-based Ervington Investments LP, which is an investment firm owned by Abramovich, is currently not under sanction.
It is uncertain if the oligarch still owns shares in the Russian oil giant Rosneft (LSE:ROSN) Oil Company Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) after he invested £225mln when the company floated in 2006, the Warsaw Institute said, which is a Polish-based geopolitical think tank.
Rosneft (LSE:ROSN) is one of Russia’s largest crude oil producers and supplies its military and is also 19.3% owned by BP.
UK sanctions will also not incorporate Abramovich’s stakes in Nornickel PJSC, also known as Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of refined Nickel.
Other Russian oligarchs sanctioned on Thursday
There were six other oligarchs that were sanctioned alongside the Chelsea owner.
Igor Sechin, Rosneft (LSE:ROSN) chief executive and former deputy Prime Minister to Putin between 2008 and 2012, Alexey Miller, Gazprom PAO chief executive, and Oleg Deripaska, who has stakes in energy company En+ Group PLC and owns one of the world’s leading aluminum producers United Company Rusal PLC, were all sanctioned on Thursday with their UK assets frozen.
Nikolay Tokarev, President of pipeline company Transneft Oil Transportation Joint-Stock Company, Dmitri Lebedev, chairman of the board of Bank Rossiya, and Andrey Kostin, chairman of VTB Bank PJSC were also sanctioned.