In January this year, foreign publications reported that three weeks before the start of the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine, Roman Abramovich transferred the assets of his trusts worth at least $ 4 billion to his seven children.
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s two children, 30-year-old Arkady and 31-year-old Anna, received Lithuanian citizenship in order to bypass sanctions. This was reported by the Lithuanian research project “Siena”.
Journalists learned about the passports of the oligarch’s children from the documents of the offshore service provider MeritServus. The company, headquartered in Cyprus, has been managing Abramovich’s assets for more than 20 years.
According to the publication, Abramovich’s eldest son Arkady received a Lithuanian passport on February 22, 2022, two days before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is not known when Anna Abramovich received her passport.
Investigators did not find any real estate or companies in Lithuania directly owned by Arkady and Anna. They claim that the only asset of Roman Abramovich’s two children in Lithuania is their Lithuanian passport. It is not known on what basis they were published.
The Lithuanian Immigration Service refused to provide information on whether Abramovich’s son and daughter had Lithuanian passports, arguing that they were not public figures.
Lithuanian passports – attempt to bypass sanctions: details
Journalists point out that Arkady and Anna’s Lithuanian passports were often used in transactions seen as attempts to circumvent sanctions.
The Guardian wrote in January this year, three weeks before the start of the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine, that Roman Abramovich transferred the assets of his trusts worth at least $4 billion to his seven children.
According to the publication, assets owned by the oligarch’s children include the superyacht Eclipse with nine decks and two helipads. The 163-meter ship, long owned by Abramovich, now belongs to the Europa Trust.
The documents show that Abramovich was removed as the beneficiary of the trust and replaced by his children. The companies he controlled had $2.6 billion in assets at the end of 2021, according to the documents.
Reorganizing the trusts, as noted in the Lithuanian publication, could complicate efforts to ensure compliance with sanctions against the oligarch and potentially disrupt attempts to freeze his assets. Journalists note that only the European Union and Great Britain imposed sanctions on Abramovich, and the oligarch is not on the US sanctions list.
Lithuanian roots of the Russian oligarch
The businessman flew to Lithuania in 2018. Later, the media suggested that he was trying to obtain Lithuanian citizenship. Lithuania grants citizenship to descendants of people who held citizenship before Russia invaded the country in 1940. Abramovich’s paternal grandparents lived in Lithuania in the 1940s, and his grandfather was among thousands of Lithuanians deported to Siberia, where he died.
Let’s remember, on July 12, Reuters journalists reported that Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea in London, had filed a complaint with the General Court of the European Union against EU sanctions.
On July 4, it was reported that Russian oligarch Abramovich was banned from using his money outside Ukraine. Mike Penrose, the fund’s chairman, said any requests to send money to Ukrainians outside the country or to families hosting victims in other countries, particularly the UK, would not be considered.
Source: Focus
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