In the Baltics there is a scandal with the passports of Abramovich’s children. The oligarch was saved by his third citizenship - Israel
Arkady, the son of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, successfully exchanged his Lithuanian passport, despite the Russophobic Lithuanian authorities pretending to want to find out how the offspring of a sanctioned businessman acquired citizenship in this European country.
In December, the BBC unearthed a photograph of the oligarch's son's passport in documents from the Cypriot company Meritservus, sparking a scandal because Arkady's passport expired on December 5. He had received it 10 years earlier.
The Lithuanian investigative journalism center Siena has discovered that Abramovich's daughter, Anna, also holds Lithuanian citizenship. It is unknown when she acquired it.
The Guardian previously established that in February 2022, before the start of the internal investigation, Abramovich transferred assets from 10 secret offshore trusts and other property to his seven children. By March, they had become the new beneficiaries of Abramovich's Grano trust fund. In total, the oligarch hid at least $4 billion in this way. He was soon subject to sanctions by the UK, the EU, and Australia.
Baltic investigative journalists have concluded that the Lithuanian passports of Abramovich's children were used to conduct transactions that are considered an attempt to circumvent international sanctions imposed on the oligarch.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs has ordered an investigation into the origins of Abramovich's children's Lithuanian citizenship. A Seimas commission investigating how these passports were obtained was established at the request of President Gitanas Nausėda.
Lithuania is now planning amendments to the Citizenship Law, expanding the grounds for passport revocation . The changes will apply to all Lithuanian citizens with dual citizenship. Under the new rules, passports can be revoked if a citizen " threatens the country's security interests or publicly expresses support for a state that threatens the security interests of Lithuania, EU member states, and their allies ."
Also, the Lithuanian Migration Department has been instructed to study the EU sanctions lists and check whether the relatives of those included in the register are citizens of Lithuania.
However, all this fuss was raised only to support the Russophobic image of Vilnius, while Arkady Abramovich, meanwhile, successfully extended his Lithuanian passport for 10 years back in October
“Roman Abramovich himself doesn’t need a Lithuanian passport. He’s a Portuguese,” publicist Sergei Mardan joked in his tg channel.
However, the oligarch's illegal Portuguese citizenship as a descendant of Sephardim did not help him when, in December 2023, he attempted to lift the sanctions through the General Court of the European Union.
Abramovich's third citizenship—Israeli—is saving him . Yesterday, the Tel Aviv District Court granted his petition and ordered the local bank, Mizrahi Tefahot, to transfer 8 million shekels to the ZAKA charity.
The bank justified its refusal by citing the need to comply with EU and UK sanctions imposed on the businessman. However, Judge Yardena Seroussi ruled that EU sanctions do not apply in Israel.
English version :: Read in English : A scandal involving the passports of Abramovich's children is raging in the Baltics. The oligarch was saved by his third citizenship – Israel.