Isolated by Western sanctions, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich arrived in Moscow

Increasingly cornered, Russian oligarchs are beginning to look for alternatives to deal with the harsh sanctions of the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU). Roman Abramovich, one of the richest men on the planet, arrived in Moscow on Tuesday after being last seen at Ben Airport Gurion, from Tel Aviv, Israel.

As reported by The Times of Israel, the Gulfstream G650 private jet, owned by the owner of Chelsea, landed in the Russian capital this Tuesday morning, following a brief stopover in Turkey.

The pilot had to take an alternative route to avoid both southeastern Ukraine, where there is heavy fighting over the Russian invasion, and the North Caucasus. Thus, the luxurious jet flew over Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea and Kazakhstan to finally land on Russian soil.

The Russian magnate was sanctioned by the United Kingdom last week for his close link with Vladimir Putin's regime, which prevented him from accessing his home in London. Despite having an Israeli passport, he could not stay in that country either.

Israel announced in the last few hours that it would not allow Russian oligarchs to evade sanctions, in a decision that was celebrated and recognized by the British Foreign Ministry.

“Welcome the news from Yair Lapid that Israel will support sanctions against Russia. We are working with our allies and partners to pressure Putin and challenge his unprovoked and unnecessary attack on Ukraine,” UK Foreign Office Head Liz Truss said on social media.

“Israel will not be a way to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and other Western countries,” said Lapid, Israeli foreign minister.

So far Israel has not joined the sanctions applied by the West against the Russian oligarchs, with the aim of assuming the role of mediator between Russia and Ukraine, since it maintains good relations with both countries.

However, the airport authorities are instructed not to allow long-term parking of Russians' private planes sanctioned by the United States. According to Channel 12, luxury private jets, owned by men close to Putin, cannot spend more than 48 hours on Israeli soil.

Abramovich, for his part, obtained Israeli citizenship in 2018 after the United Kingdom refused to renew his visa, amid growing diplomatic clashes between London and Moscow.

Two days before the invasion of Ukraine, he made a millionaire donation to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, but the institution decided to give up the money and announced that it was cutting ties with the tycoon two weeks later.

Despite not being able to renew his British visa, Abramovich remained the owner of the English football club Chelsea these years. But he tried to sell it at the end of last month, knowing that he would enter the list of sanctioned oligarchs.

(Marcelo Regalado - Infobae)

Last week the British authorities, which estimate its net worth at £9.4 billion (11.1 billion euros, 12.2 billion dollars), froze its assets.

In addition to the blockade of assets, Abramovich will not be able to enter British territory and will be banned from doing any kind of business on English soil because of his “close relationship” with Putin's Russian regime.

In this way, his intentions to get rid of the Blues have been abruptly paralyzed and the future of the club remains unknown despite the fact that the Russian tycoon asked the Raine Group to tell those applying to acquire the institution to submit offers to make the purchase effective. The estimated value of Chelsea for sale is estimated to be around $4 billion.

In addition, the Premier League announced the official removal of the tycoon as the main face of the club over the weekend. “Following the imposition of sanctions by the UK Government, the Premier League Board has disqualified Roman Abramovich as director of Chelsea Football Club.”

On Tuesday, the European Union adopted the fourth package of sectoral and individual sanctions for the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, aimed at dealing “another big blow” to the economic and logistical base of the Kremlin war machine.

The new package, promoted by European leaders at their informal meeting on March 10-11 in Versailles (France) and approved this Monday by the ambassadors of the Twenty-Seven to the European institutions, includes trade and financial restrictions and adds more oligarchs to the community club's blacklist.

This package expands the list of sanctioned individuals and entities, in a new step against the circle closest to the Kremlin, including oligarchs such as Abramovich.

Keep reading: