The former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is making a claim of “conspiracy” against the government of Jersey after the crown dependency launched a criminal investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering in connection with the original source of the oligarch’s wealth.
The latest move threatens to throw open parts of a secretive legal battle on the Channel island about the tycoon’s rise to become one of the world’s richest people, which emerged in September after a Switzerland federal criminal court ordered the release of a cache of Swiss banking records requested by the Jersey attorney general.
The Russian billionaire had originally requested a gagging order on the cases but has reportedly removed his opposition after he alleged conspiracy by the island’s authorities over the criminal investigation brought against him in 2022. The lifting of the privacy order was first reported by the Independent on Sunday.
A spokesperson for Abramovich told Reuters: “No charges have been brought against Mr Abramovich in the three and a half years since the investigation was commenced, and, to our knowledge, in fact no progress has been made on this case.
“Mr Abramovich was allowed earlier this year to introduce claims of conspiracy against the government of Jersey.”
The crown dependency froze more than $7bn (£5.3bn) of assets suspected of being linked to him soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Jersey attorney general also said Abramovich was a suspect in a criminal investigation.
Abramovich then succeeded in his legal attempt to force ministers and other senior figures in Jersey to produce private messages, emails and other data related to him that would now be made public, the Independent reported.
The paper also published details from a judgment reportedly issued last week by the advocate David Michael Cadin, the master of the royal court, ordering the government of Jersey (GOJ) to pay Abramovich’s costs and describing its failure to provide data requested by the oligarch’s legal team more than two years ago as “extreme”.
“The GOJ defendants’ conduct was out of the ordinary for any litigant let alone an ‘office holder’, and unreasonable,” he is reported to have said. “No proper explanation has been offered by the GOJ defendants for their failings.”
Jersey is one of the tax havens from which Abramovich managed his fortune, using a network of offshore companies and trusts, that in turn controlled companies with bank accounts in Switzerland.
According to the Swiss rulings that first shone a light on the investigation, Jersey officials are looking into the origins of the oligarch’s wealth, acquired during the chaotic rise of capitalism in Russia in the 1990s and 2000s.
Abramovich, through his lawyers, has denied the Jersey allegations and said any suggestion he was involved in criminal activity was false.
The Law Officers’ Department in Jersey said: “We are unable to comment.”
A spokesperson for the Jersey government said: “We respect the independence of the courts and the integrity of the legal process, and we will continue to defend our position vigorously.
“We categorically reject allegations of conspiracy, misfeasance in public office, or bad faith. These claims are entirely without foundation and will be addressed through the appropriate legal channels.
“The government of Jersey has consistently supported the principle of open justice and opposed Mr Abramovich’s application to the privy council for the case to be heard in private. However, as proceedings remain active, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
Abramovich did not respond to the Guardian’s invitations to comment.
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