Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich arrives at the Freiburg Civil Court in Switzerland in May 2018.
Image: EPA
The announcement comes in response to a media report that a son and daughter of the billionaire may have helped their father evade sanctions. Both are Lithuanian citizens.
LItaly’s government wants to investigate the circumstances surrounding the issuance of Lithuanian passports to two children of the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. Thursday’s announcement came in response to an investigative media report that a son and daughter of the billionaire have citizenship in the Baltic EU country and may have helped their father evade international sanctions. The naturalization of the two children about ten years ago was confirmed by the Lithuanian authorities.
“The granting of citizenship cannot be a secret and a Lithuanian passport cannot be a pretext for evading sanctions or other abuses,” said Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite, also announcing changes to the law. This will allow people to have their citizenship revoked if they pose a threat to Lithuania’s national security.
Abramovich was placed on the EU sanctions list in March 2022 following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Unlike close Kremlin confidants, the oligarch’s family members were not subject to sanctions. According to an earlier report by the British Guardian, Abramovich is said to have transferred part of his fortune to his children shortly before his home country invaded Ukraine. According to the new investigation, the fact that two of them have a Lithuanian passport is revealed from hacked data from a Cyprus-based business service provider.
A lawyer for the former owner of the English football club FC Chelsea did not respond to a request for comment, the report from the Lithuanian investigative media said. Abramowitsch’s grandparents are said to come from Lithuania. According to the migration authority, the oligarch himself does not have a Lithuanian passport.