One of Russia's richest people, with Forbes putting his net worth in 2019 at $12.9bn, Reportedly sold dolls before making his fortune in oil and gas after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, One-time business partner of the late tycoon Boris Berezovky, an associate of ex-Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Served as governor of Russia's Chukotka region, Believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Became owner of the companies that control Chelsea in 2003, Reportedly withdrew application to extend his UK investor visa - which allowed him to reside in Britain - in 2018. © 2017-2020 Tribuna Digital. Among the transactions were a series of nine payments from a Cypriot company. Deutsche Bank labeled the transactions as 'round-tripping', where money passes through different banks, companies and countries with no clear economic purpose, often to disguise the origin of the money. Tweet. This money was split between four other companies before $156m ended up in Leiston Holdings. The SAR said many of the shell companies were "owned by Roman Abramovich… one of Russia's most powerful oligarchs with close ties to Moscow & Vladimir Putin". All rights reserved. ': Willian reveals how David Luiz pleaded with him to join Gunners, Merson explains Chelsea's Declan Rice interest: 'Since David Luiz left they’ve not had anybody who can play that role', David Luiz move said to have cost Arsenal £24m. In fact, Chelsea have spent more than £30million on 19 players, starting with Andriy Shevchenko and most recently with Kai Havertz, who joined for a whopping £75.8million. Share. A spokesperson for Abramovich told the newspapers that the payments were part of his companies' restructuring and that they were subject to extensive controls. It identified more than $1bn of "suspicious payments involving offshore shell companies" - firms functioning only to manage the money put in them. Russian billionaire used ING for €1 billion in suspicious transactions: Report. The FinCen Files is a leak of secret documents. Video, Undercover in the schools that chain boys, The woman who ferries Covid patients in a school bus. The FinCEN documents show that ING replied to Deutsche Bank that it did not consider the transactions suspicious, according to the newspapers. It comes as Mr Abramovich appears to be making heavy investments in Chelsea again this year. The Brazilian truly has a heart of gold. "From a moral point of view, and from an integrity of the sport point of view - when you sign for a club, your integrity and your loyalty should be to that club 100%. © 2020 BBC. She said they "relate to the period before Fifa changed their rules". 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But former Football Association chairman Lord Triesman has questioned whether it was "proper" for the owner of a football club to have an interest in players in other teams. you guys can say what you want but David Luiz his a good man with golden heart and he always luv Chelsea but he had no choice he has to move on with his life as a footballer we all know who push that move for Luis to leave the Club but many of us we don't want to face the truth many times here, who always love Chelsea? Mr Abramovich's spokeswoman stressed no rules or regulations were broken. In 2016/17, David Luiz won the Premier League title with Chelsea for the first time. ", "It casts suspicion and a shadow right across football. The Brazilian reacted in a brilliant way, spending over a million pounds to thank his teammates, manager Antonio Conte and owner Roman Abrahmovich for such a season. Leiston became the subject of public attention in 2018, when it was revealed by German website Der Spiegel as part of the Football Leaks investigation to be an investment vehicle for TPO. US election 2020 polls: Who is ahead - Trump or Biden? The FinCEN Files: Your guide to eight years of finance leaks, The singer facing death threats in Afghanistan. Who does China really want to win US election? Panorama discovered both the company in Cyprus and Leiston Holdings are Roman Abramovich companies. 5 days ago , Grigorii Egorov . US 2020 election: Who does China really want to win? Timo Werner: How Chelsea move happened, how he will fit in and what happened to Liverpool deal? .css-8h1dth-Link{font-family:ReithSans,Helvetica,Arial,freesans,sans-serif;font-weight:700;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#FFFFFF;}.css-8h1dth-Link:hover,.css-8h1dth-Link:focus{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Read about our approach to external linking. He held rights in the players through a company based in the British Virgin Islands. And Carrillo lined up for Sporting in both matches. The money seemed to be going around in circles between the companies. The practice was banned in the English Premier League in 2008 but not internationally until 2015. Chelsea faced Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League group stage in 2014. That is precisely why third-party ownership is banned. © 2012-2020 NLTimes.nl, All rights reserved. Roman Abramovich has key forged from 4.9bn-year-old meteorite – all because David Luiz has eternal gratitude. And Sporting agreed to pay Leiston a "risk fee" of more than €127,000 for each season Carrillo played for the club. The files were obtained by BuzzFeed News which shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and 400 journalists around the world. It’s truly impressive how a person’s story can change in a matter of years. The spokeswoman added that suspicious activity reports do not mean laws or rules have been broken, saying: "The fact that we are not aware of this issue, confirms that there has been no wrongdoing as no action was taken.". "Abramovich's financial affairs are in full compliance with international tax laws and regulations, suggesting otherwise is unjustified," the spokesperson said. 'I want you to come to Arsenal! Photograph: Rex Features I t has been bizarre to … In 2016, Abramovich sent money from Cyprus via ING Amsterdam to the British Virgin Islands. Senturion’s director of communications Ayla Varquin commented: "It was very generous of David to commission special Senturion pieces for his team-mates. Leiston was taking stakes in footballers overseas through third-party ownership (TPO). A leak of documents - banks' "suspicious activity reports" - that have been called the FinCEN Files and seen by BBC Panorama has revealed that Mr Abramovich is behind an offshore company called Leiston Holdings. They have revealed how major banks have allowed dirty money to be moved around the world. .css-14iz86j-BoldText{font-weight:bold;}Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich held secret investments in footballers not owned by his club, an investigation has discovered. Leiston also owned stakes in two other Sporting players - Gael Etock, who played for the club between 2012 and 2013, and Valentim Viola who was in the squad between 2012 and 2016. VideoUndercover in the schools that chain boys, The woman who ferries Covid patients in a school bus. The latest updates in text and video as the US election enters its frantic final fortnight. David did when PSG knocked us of Champ League return leg, THE BANK OF ROMAN, he does luv Chelsea Luis that is part of his professional well playing for another team that is normal bro but deep inside his heart Luis luv Chelsea he did alot for the Club well playing for Chelsea he gave 150/ percent every time he was playing never forget that mate, Ok Dexter, what would u do if ur not favoured by ur coach. was money mentioned there? please keep that story for another day. On the documents I've seen I would've wanted, as chairman of the FA, to investigate them.". Roman Abramovich – The Story of a Self-Made Billionaire. FinCEN Files: full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #FinCENFiles; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "FinCEN Files; Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only). They also show how the UK is often the weak link in the financial system and how London is awash with Russian cash. Roman Abramovich and his entourage appear at the high court to face charges made by Boris Berezovsky. A spokesperson for ING told NOS that the bank does not comment on individual customers and transactions - the same statement the bank gave the broadcaster on Monday after other reports about ING's involvement in suspicious transactions involving Russian money. Chelsea were among the first to normalise the £30m-man, as Roman Abramovich ushered in a new era of massive money.