The European Union (EU) is preparing new sanctions against Russian businessmen, including the inclusion of Roman Abramovich, owner of the English Premier League soccer team Chelsea, in the planned target of sanctions in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to foreign media such as the Financial Times (FT), ambassadors from EU member states met in Brussels, Belgium on the 13th (local time) to review the list of 15 candidates for sanctions. This includes Abramovich. This deliberation comes after Abramovich, who became famous after taking over Chelsea, the English Premier League soccer team, received an asset freeze and departure ban from the British government on the 10th.
According to a draft of the sanctions-related bill, Abramovich is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and is a significant source of income for the Russian government.
Of the 15 people on the sanctions list, 4 were related to oligarchs such as Abramovich, 7 were related to Kremlin-related businessmen, and 4 were linked to the leak of disinformation from Russia.
The final version is expected to be adopted on the 14th, and ambassadors from each country have not raised any objection regarding the sanctions against 15 people. A spokesperson for the European Commission, however, declined to comment.
The EU is also said to be considering additional economic sanctions against Russian state-owned enterprises in the aviation and shipbuilding sectors. Citing two well-known diplomats, the FT reported that restrictions on imports of Russian steel products, new investment in Russia’s energy sector, and bans on export of Russian luxury goods are also being considered.
It is known that the EU has already sanctioned a number of oligarchs who are considered close to Putin. Among them, it is reported that Mikhail Friedman, founder of Alpha Group, an investment company, and fellow shareholders Petr Avenue and Igor Sechin. Others include Mikhail Poluvoyarinov, chairman of Russian airline Aeroflot, and Alsher Usmanov, a financier.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said at the end of the EU summit in Versailles that the EU was ready to go beyond the sanctions it had already imposed on Russia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels was already preparing a fourth sanctions plan.
Abramovich, who built his fortune as Russia privatized its oil industry after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, is said to have put up properties in Kensington and Chelsea, England, for sale in recent weeks. Britain said the tycoon’s fortune was £9.4 billion.
Early in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich flew to Belarus to help mediate a ceasefire between the two countries. The move comes after the UK government imposed sanctions on him last week after he was portrayed as a member of a pro-Kremlin oligarchy in Britain.
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