Jersey freezes £5bn assets linked to Roman Abramovich

Police searched properties connected to Russian oligarch on Tuesday

Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by Britain on 10 March 2022 (PA Wire)

A court in Jersey has frozen $7 billion (£5.4bn) in assets connected to the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, a month after the UK and the EU sanctioned him over his alleged ties to the Kremlin.

The Channel Island’s Law Officers’ Department said police had searched properties supposedly linked to the 55-year-old’s business interests on Tuesday.

“The Royal Court also imposed a formal freezing order on 12 April, known as a saisie judiciaire, over assets understood to be valued in excess of US$7 billion which are suspected to be connected to Mr Abramovich and which are either located in Jersey or owned by Jersey incorporated entities,” it said in a statement.

This comes after Antigua and Barbuda, a country in the Caribbean, confirmed earlier this month that it was prepared to help the UK seize Mr Abramovich’s yachts.

Britain sanctioned the Russian oil tycoon on 10 March, more than two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Explaining its decision, the government claimed the oligarch “has had a close relationship [with Putin] for decades” and had obtained “financial benefit or other material benefit” from the Russian president and his government.

The Chelsea owner has previously denied this allegation. However, he recently attended peace talks  between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Mr Abramovich was there to “enable certain contacts” between the sides, but emphasised that he was not officially part of the Russian delegation.

The oligarch has an estimated net worth of $13.9 billion (£10.6bn), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.