Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich handed over almost four billion euros to his children in trust in early February 2022, three weeks before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, British daily newspaper The Guardian writes this Friday.
By law, a trust is a testamentary disposition, according to which the heir or legatee is responsible for the preservation and transfer after the death of the inheritance or will to a third party.
According to the British newspaper, although sanctions experts have pointed out that these processes are not illegal, they acknowledge that the dense web of the oligarch’s financial transactions complicates, if necessary, the imposition of new sanctions.
Abramovich is contesting sanctions imposed on him by the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) for his ties to the Kremlin.
According to sources cited by Bloomberg, the United States has yet to impose sanctions on the tycoon who has continued to seek to position himself as an alleged “unofficial mediator” in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, although senior officials believe it was ” trick” for which they asked to reprimand Abramovich.
Among the assets will be, for example, luxury real estate and a fleet of superyachts, helicopters and private jets, which this Friday will be the beneficiaries of Abramovich’s seven children, the youngest of whom is nine.
The files, according to the British newspaper, came from a data theft from an offshore service provider based in Cyprus that manages Abramovich’s funds.
The newspaper adds that it received the documents anonymously.
The Guardian consulted a former senior US official, an expert on sanctions enforcement, who acknowledged that with the operation, Abramovich was able to successfully distance himself from any further sanctions and freeze his assets.
“On its own, it is difficult to determine ownership of an asset because of the maze in which they appear in shell companies and trusts. sanctions, this can become a very difficult exercise, ”a source told The Guardian.
Neither Abramovich nor his children commented on the situation to a British newspaper.
The Russian military offensive was launched on February 24 last year to, in Putin’s words, “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine in the interests of Russia’s security.
The invasion was condemned by the international community as a whole, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
The UN has presented as confirmed 6,919 civilian deaths and 11,075 wounded since the start of the war, stressing that these figures are much lower than the real ones.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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