In brief: Lawyers for Roman Abramovich have renewed claims that Jersey’s criminal investigation into his assets is politically motivated, arguing the Island actively courted his investment before Russian money became “politically inconvenient.” More than £5 billion of assets linked to the former Chelsea owner remain frozen in Jersey, and the investigation has now run for over four and a half years.
The Lawyers’ Case: Welcome Mat, Then Handcuffs
Law firm Kobre & Kim, representing Mr Abramovich, issued a statement to the Jersey Evening Post following a new BBC Panorama investigation, arguing that their client’s position had not been reported in full by the broadcaster.
The firm’s central argument is straightforward, if pointed: Jersey’s government actively sought investment from the Russian billionaire from around 2016, granted him High Value Residency status following what they describe as a “robust vetting process” involving both Jersey and UK authorities, and approved business licences for connected companies. The result, according to the lawyers, was more than $7 billion of assets associated with Mr Abramovich moving to the Island.
Kobre & Kim argue that the criminal investigation, launched in early 2022, relies heavily on material from a 2012 English court judgment, which had already been brought to Jersey authorities’ attention during the vetting checks carried out in 2016. The shift from welcoming those assets to alleging they were criminal property, the firm contends, “strongly indicates that the investigation is being pursued for improper political purposes.” In other words: Jersey liked the money just fine until liking Russian money stopped being fashionable.
The lawyers also took aim at the pace of proceedings, noting that the criminal investigation had continued for more than four and a half years “without any meaningful progress.” They further criticised the handling of Mr Abramovich’s requests for personal data, citing court findings that the government breached its disclosure obligations.
What the BBC Panorama Investigation Reported
The new BBC Panorama investigation, which prompted the lawyers’ renewed statement, reported that falsified documents were used to conceal Mr Abramovich’s wealth and evade tax. Mr Abramovich denies those allegations, as well as the Attorney General’s allegations about the origins of his wealth.
Jersey’s Government Responds
The Government of Jersey has previously addressed the political motivation claims directly. In an earlier statement, it stressed that the Attorney General is constitutionally independent and that ministers have “no authority or influence” over his investigation. The government said it was defending the separate civil proceedings and “categorically rejects allegations of conspiracy, misfeasance in public office or bad faith.”
That constitutional separation is worth noting: whatever one thinks of the broader political climate around Russian assets, the formal position is that the Attorney General operates independently of the Council of Ministers. Whether that distinction satisfies critics who point to the timeline of events is, of course, another matter entirely.
More than £5 billion of assets linked to the former Chelsea owner remain frozen in Jersey while proceedings continue.
Source: Jersey Evening Post
