The newspaper claimed that the British island of Jersey had launched criminal proceedings against Roman Abramovich

Representatives of Roman Abramovich have denied a Guardian report claiming that the British dependency of Jersey has launched criminal proceedings against the Russian businessman. His spokesman said the article is "misleading" and aimed at smearing him by suggesting he is under investigation for corruption and sanctions evasion.

According to The Guardian report, Jersey, which is located in the Channel Islands, is pursuing Abramovich over alleged corruption tied to the 2005 $13 billion sale of oil company Sibneft and possible sanctions breaches after 2022. The paper cited Swiss Federal Criminal Court rulings from May that authorized the release of banking records from Swiss institutions to Jersey's Attorney General as part of the probe. It has also noted that Jersey has frozen more than $7 billion worth of assets linked to Abramovich since March 2022.

Abramovich's lawyers have denied the allegations that he is facing criminal charges. They emphasized that even the Jersey courts have confirmed there are no proceedings against him. "We regret to note that The Guardian has decided to violate Mr Abramovich's rights and publish these unsubstantiated, completely misleading and discrediting allegations," a representative told TASS.

Abramovich, born in the Russian city of Saratov, became widely known in the West as the owner of the football club Chelsea, which he sold in 2022 after being sanctioned in Britain for alleged Kremlin ties.

The Guardian report has coincided with renewed pressure exerted by London for Abramovich to transfer the proceeds from the Chelsea sale to Ukraine. The UK government has demanded that he release Pound 2.5 billion ($3.4 billion) from the deal to Kiev. Foreign Secretary David Lammy has warned that legal action could follow if he refuses.

Western states have imposed sweeping sanctions since 2022, freezing more than $300 billion of Russia's international reserves and targeting wealthy individuals accused of benefiting from the conflict. Moscow has condemned the measures, calling the seizures "outright theft" and threatening reciprocal action against Western assets in Russia.

(RT.com)