The fortune of billionaire Roman Abramovich is not just a goldmine for him, but also for the journalists who investigate the origins of these funds, in particular those of the BBC, who are having a great time these last few days. By digging into the bowels of the Russian administration, they have brought to light two particularly embarrassing cases for the still owner of Chelsea with, each time, adventures worthy of the greatest mafia films. Prepare the popcorn, we take care of the rest.
The oil company, Boris Yeltsin and the sextape
According to confidential documents obtained by our British colleagues, Roman Abramovich would have paid bribes to a member of the Kremlin in 1995 in order to put the grappling hook, via a rigged auction, on Sibneft, an oil company until there owned by the Russian state. Bought for 250 million dollars, this company will be sold ten years later to the Kremlin, now under the direction of Vladimir Putin, for the modest sum of… 13 billion dollars. This is called a nice little added value.
Under the influence of a parliamentary investigation in 1997, the current owner of the Blues will receive the support of the president at the time, Boris Yeltsin, who will dismiss the general prosecutor in charge of the file, Yuri Skuratov, caught in flagrante delicto sleeping in a sextape that fell into the hands of his adversaries. Skuratov will then talk about a set up to discredit him and his investigation.
Abramovich’s Chinese competitor kidnapped in Moscow
Later, in 2002, Roman Abramovich will once again seize an oil company, after the kidnapping of a competitor at Moscow airport. Indeed, when he intended to buy Slavneft, the now billionaire had to face stiff Chinese competition, the CNPC company having planned to put on the table twice what Abramovich and his partners were offering.
“CNPC, a Chinese company and a very strong competitor, had to withdraw from the auction after one of its representatives was abducted upon arrival at Moscow airport and only released after the company has declared its withdrawal”, describes the document extracted from the archives of the Russian police and which the channel claims to have been able to cross-check in part from other sources.
If it is not able to affirm that Roman Abramovich was aware of this kidnapping, the BBC says that after this kidnapping, only the offer of the Russian and his associates remained on the table. He will finally win the bet “at an unbeatable price. The Russian oligarch’s lawyers deny all these accusations en bloc.
The EU also attacks Abramovich
Separately, the European Union has included the Chelsea owner on a new list of 12 Russian oligarchs as part of a fourth round of sanctions against Moscow, in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These European sanctions against Moscow were approved Monday afternoon by the ambassadors of the 27 member states in Brussels.
They “will enter into force as soon as they are published in the Official Journal of the European Union”, specified on Twitter the French presidency of the Council of the EU. This publication is expected Tuesday during the day. Before its extension, 862 individuals and 53 Russian entities appeared on this blacklist which prohibits entry into EU territory and authorizes the freezing of the assets of the persons and companies concerned.