Russia: Chelsea owner, Abramovich barred from living in Britain

Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich is reported to have been effectively barred from living in Britain ever again.

The billionaire has not been seen at his Premier League football club's south-west London home, Stamford Bridge, for months.

He withdrew his application for a British Tier 1 investor visa in 2018, after reported delays in his application following criticism of Russian oligarchs in the wake of the Salisbury poisonings.

According to The Sun, senior security sources now say it is unlikely that the 55-year-old will ever be allowed to live in Britain again.

Immigration officials are reportedly under instructions to make it impossible for Mr Abramovich - who owns a £125million mansion near Kensington Palace - to base himself in the UK.

His case is said to be being handled by the Home Office's 'Special Cases Unit'.

It comes after Mr Abramovich was named by MPs on Tuesday as being one of 35 oligarchs identified by  Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as one of the 'key enablers' of the 'kleptocracy' run by the country's president Vladimir Putin.

He vehemently denies he is close to the Kremlin or has done anything that would merit sanctions being imposed against him - as Britain looked to impose sanctions on Russia amid rising tensions with Ukraine.

In 2018 Mr Abramovich became an Israeli citizen, allowing him to enter for Britain for up to six months.

He used his Israeli passport last October to make a short trip to London.

However, a senior source told The Sun that any attempt by the oligarch to apply for a permanent visa would 'almost certainly be rejected'.

He arrived at Chelsea in 2003 and transformed the team from outside challengers to a Premier League giant with the help of Jose Mourinho.

The bulk of Abramovich's UK wealth is to be found in Evraz, a steel and mining giant listed on the London stock market.

In the Commons on Tuesday, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran read out a list that featured Mr Abramovich's name alongside other oligarchs including Arsenal investor Alisher Usmanov.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss refused to say whether or not Mr Abramovich would be targeted with sanctions, but suggested that others would be.

'We have a long list of those complicit in the actions of the Russian leadership,' she said.

'Should Russia refuse to pull back its troops, we can keep turning up the heat, targeting more banks, elites and companies of significance.

'This is about inflicting pain on Putin and degrading the Russian economic system over time, targeting people that are close to Putin. What we have to do is make it as painful as possible.'

Mr Johnson yesterday held talks with senior City figures about ways to tighten the screws on Russian businesses and individuals with links to the Kremlin.

The PM told the Commons that the Government was 'bringing forward' the next wave of sanctions which would 'stop all Russian banks, all oligarchs, all Russian individuals raising money on London markets'.