Title : Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich 'granted Israeli citizenship
link : Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich 'granted Israeli citizenship
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich 'granted Israeli citizenship
- Russian billionaire has been granted Israeli citizenship, officials confirm
- He owns a former hotel, in an old Tel Aviv neighbourhood close to the Med shore
- His British visa expired last month and it is taking 'longer than usual' to renew
Abramovich has been granted Israeli citizenship following a spat between Moscow and London in the wake of the Salisbury nerve agent attack
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has become an Israeli citizen, a government official has confirmed.
The Russian billionaire was hit by a delay in renewing his British visa in the wake of soured relations between Moscow and London following the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.
Abramovich, who owns a £125million mansion in Kensington, was caught up in the row after Theresa May targeted Russian oligarchs in a tit-for-tat row with Putin.
On Monday, Abramovich flew into Tel Aviv and received an Israeli identity card under the Law of Return, which allows Jews, people with a Jewish parent, grandparent or spouse the right to live in Israel.
Citizenship would allow the tycoon to obtain an Israeli passport, and enter the UK without a visa for short stays, although it would not permit him to work.
The 51-year-old businessman was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents Irina and Arkady, who died before he turned four.
He arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport, southeast of Tel Aviv, early yesterday, Israel’s Interior Ministry confirmed.
The Nativ Liaison Bureau, which manages immigration from Russian-speaking countries, confirmed the tycoon applied for citizenship from abroad last week.
A view of the Varsano Hotel in Neve Tzedek from the garden - Roman Abramovich's home in Israel, and bought from Hollywood star Gal Gadot
‘Roman Abramovich arrived at the Israeli embassy in Moscow like any other person. He filed a request to receive an immigration permit, his documents were checked according to the Law of Return, and he was indeed found eligible,' a spokesperson told Channel 10 news.
Abramovich has been a regular visitor to Israel, where he has bought a former hotel from Israeli Hollywood actress Gal Gadot in Neve Tzedek, an old Tel Aviv neighbourhood, close to the Mediterranean shore.
Chelsea Football Club Billonaire owner Roman Abramovich's specially adapted £56 million pound Boeing 767 Airliner (stock image)
Israel-based Russian language newspaper Vesty reported the tycoon was on the ground at Ben Gurion Airport for around three hours after arriving in his £56million private Boeing 767 jet.
'He was issued a certificate of a new repatriate (Teudat Oleh) and an identity card (Teudat Zehut),' reported Vesty yesterday.
The website reported that he opened a bank account and arranged medical insurance during his three-hour stint in the country, before jetting off to an unknown location.
Abramovich's British special investor visa expired last month.
The delay in renewing it follows a Whitehall crackdown on Russian applications in the aftermath of the Sergei Skripal nerve agent poisoning, which was blamed on Moscow despite the Kremlin's strong denial.
Scores of Russian oligarchs with homes and businesses in London face being swept up in the Government’s new crackdown on ‘unexplained’ foreign wealth.
Abramovich, who bought Chelsea in 2003, was last in the UK in early April this year. He was unable to travel to Britain to watch Chelsea win the FA Cup Final.
Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich (left) shakes hands with former Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink during a UEFA Champions League Group C football match between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge in London on December 5, 2017
Reports last week suggested Abramovich was expected in Israel to seek citizenship, however he did not arrive until yesterday.
In a Jerusalem Post article on his immigration to Israel, a source close to Abramovich said: 'He is very committed to Israel. He has family ties there and has invested in business and has charitable contributions and this has been in the back of his mind for a while, to formalise his ties with the country.'
Eclipse yacht, the world's second largest, belonging to Roman Abramovich, moored near Cavtat, Croatia (stock image)
The story added that Abramovich has made multiple generous donations in Israel, including about $60million to various advanced medical ventures at the Sheba Medical Center, and $30million towards the establishment of an innovative new nanotechnology site at Tel Aviv University.
The British government has declined to comment on Abramovich's case.
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