Why has Roman Abramovich not been hit with UK sanctions before?
Roman Abramovich has been a prominent and controversial figure since 2003, when he bought Chelsea football club, and the document imposing sanctions on him cites contracts he received before the 2018 World Cup. So why has nothing happened before now?
There are various reasons, but much it boils down to one key factor: such things take time, and especially when compiling what officials stress has to be a “legally watertight” case against someone with access to extremely expensive lawyers.
“You need an exceptionally high bar for these sorts of things,” one UK official connected to the process said. “Government lawyers are naturally a bit reticent, even if it is a very small risk.”
Reading the entry for Abramovich on the list of new sanctions prepared by the Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation it is nonetheless notable that none of the justifications for the asset freeze against the 55-year-old billionaire involve new developments.
As a means of demonstrating Abramovich’s close links to Vladimir Putin, the document lists benefits he has received via the Russian president, including tax breaks for his companies, and contracts ahead of the 2018 World Cup, held in Russia.
Similarly, his links to other Russian figures who have now had sanctions placed on them, and his controlling shareholding in steel company Evraz, which the UK government said potentially supplies material for Russian tanks, are both longstanding.
UK officials dispute the idea that there has been an excessive delay in placing sanctions on Abramovich, pointing out that they have done so before he has faced any similar restrictions via the EU or US.
While it is known that the UK government has been compiling information on Abramovich’s links to
Read more on theguardian.com
