Extravagant Mansion Tied To Russian Oligarch Frozen In Europe

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“Portugal has blocked the sale of a $10.4 million mansion because of a “strong conviction” it belongs to Kremlin-linked billionaire Roman Abramovich,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports. Abramovich is among the many wealthy Russians who’ve been sanctioned by various governing authorities over Russia’s war against Ukraine. Per Portuguese Foreign Minister Joao Cravinho, the property registry for the residence — which sits in the Quinta do Lago resort in Portugal’s Algarve region — was frozen.

The action means the property can’t be sold, rented, or mortgaged. According to Cravinho, the “move was made at the request of the Foreign Ministry on March 25,” that previously cited outlet explains. “We have a strong conviction, which hasn’t been fully confirmed, the house belongs to Roman Abramovich… The challenge here is that many of those sanctioned do not have their properties and assets in their names,” according to the Portuguese official. A representative for Abramovich denied the targeted residence was actually his. Recently, the island jurisdiction known as Jersey froze more than $7 billion worth of assets suspected of ties to Abramovich, who’d been named in 2018 as the wealthiest resident of the Channel Islands, of which Jersey — situated near the U.K. — is a part.

Relatedly, as previously reported here, the U.K. government recently undertook what was reportedly its largest asset freeze ever, targeting Russian oligarchs’ assets worth up to $13 billion. The targeted oligarchs were associates of Abramovich and include Eugene Tenenbaum and David Davidovich. The move, officials said, “will prevent these assets from being repatriated to Russia and used to fund Putin’s war machine.” Around the world, wealthy Russians with ties to Putin’s circles have been targeted in the wake of the February Russian invasion of Ukraine. G7 leaders recently pledged that they would “continue and elevate our campaign against the financial elites and family members, who support President Putin in his war effort and squander the resources of the Russian people. Consistent with our national authorities, we will impose sanctions on additional individuals.”

The U.S. has been directly involved in at least two seizures of large yachts tied to Russian oligarchs. As also previously reported here, law enforcement in Fiji working on behalf of the United States recently seized a $300 million, 348-foot yacht called the Amadea belonging to Suleiman Kerimov, who’s among those targeted by United States sanctions. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia “found that the Amadea is subject to forfeiture based on probable cause of violations of U.S. law, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), money laundering and conspiracy,” authorities said. “Kerimov and those acting on his behalf and for his benefit caused U.S. dollar transactions to be routed through U.S. financial institutions for the support and maintenance of the Amadea,” the Justice Department also explained — details that presumably helped solidify U.S. jurisdiction over the vessel.