Abramovich Returns To Russia Over Failure To Renew UK Visa

DAVID OPUTAH

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is yet to have his UK visa renewed after it reportedly ran out in April, forcing the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club to return to Russia.

London-based Mr Abramovich, who is Britain’s 13th richest man according to the Sunday Times with £9.3bn, left the UK after his investor visa expired and couldn’t attend Chelsea’s 1-0 win in the FA Cup final on Saturday at Wembley.

He also did not testify as expected last week in a London court dispute between two other Russian oligarchs, Oleg Deripaska and Vladimir Potanin as he has returned to Russia.

David Davidovich, an associate of Mr Abramovich’s holding company Millhouse, told the court that Mr Abramovich was in Switzerland preparing to appear as a defendant in a separate case.

Security minister Ben Wallace said the Home Office did not routinely comment on individual cases while Mr Abramovich’s spokesperson also declined to comment.

One person close to Mr Abramovich said that the request for a visa had not been denied, but that the UK authorities were taking longer than usual to renew it without offering any explanation.

Mr Abramovich is Russia’s 11th richest man with wealth of $10.8bn (£11bn), according to estimates by Forbes magazine. The 51-year-old made his fortune predominantly in the oil industry in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

He bought Chelsea from Ken Bates in 2003 for £140m and invested heavily in the club, building its commercial power, establishing a new training complex and bringing in new players and staff.