Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club, is under criminal investigation by Jersey authorities over allegations of corruption and money laundering linked to the origins of his fortune, according to court documents.
Details of the inquiry emerged from Switzerland’s federal criminal court, where judges ordered the release of documents relating to multiple Swiss bank accounts requested by Jersey’s attorney general. The Channel Island’s authorities have been pursuing companies suspected of connections to Abramovich in the Swiss courts. More than $7bn (£5.2bn) in assets believed to be linked to him were frozen shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Swiss rulings indicate that Jersey investigators are examining the source of Abramovich’s wealth, amassed during Russia’s privatisation era in the 1990s and 2000s. The investigation covers two areas: suspected money laundering connected to the $13bn sale of oil and gas company Sibneft to the Russian government in 2005, and potential sanctions breaches involving asset transfers after Abramovich was placed on Jersey’s sanctions list in March 2022.
The rulings allege that Abramovich made corruption payments in the 1990s while building Sibneft. Jersey authorities believe proceeds from the sale were moved through offshore companies and trusts into Swiss accounts. They are also investigating whether companies under his indirect control continued trading assets and providing financial services in breach of sanctions law.
Abramovich, through his lawyers, has denied all allegations, stating that any suggestion of criminal activity is false. No charges have been brought against him, and his legal team says there are no criminal proceedings against him in Jersey.
Swiss judges rejected appeals by companies seeking to block the release of banking documents, ruling that Jersey had presented sufficient evidence to substantiate allegations of money laundering with bribery as a predicate offence.
Jersey’s attorney general’s office declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
