Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and his daughter Anna have failed to overturn Jersey court rulings regarding frozen assets and an ongoing money-laundering investigation, and must pay the Island’s legal costs.
According to a report from The Independent, a judge in Jersey has removed a gagging order on a series of legal cases brought by Roman Abramovich against the island’s government — making public for the first time the details of a two-year battle.
The report says Abramovich initially requested the privacy order but withdrew his opposition after alleging a “conspiracy” by Jersey authorities over a criminal investigation launched in 2022.
Court documents now show that ministers and senior officials were forced to hand over private messages, emails and other data as part of Abramovich’s legal challenge.
Crucially, the documents also reveal that data linked to the original 2022 investigation was “wrongly deleted” by the government.
In a judgment, Advocate David Michael Cadin, master of Jersey’s Royal Court, described the conduct of the Government of Jersey as “extreme” and ruled that no proper explanation had been offered for its failures. He ordered the government to pay Abramovich’s legal costs.
The 2022 investigation saw a formal freezing order imposed on more than $7 billion in assets allegedly connected to Abramovich.
Jersey’s Attorney General named him a suspect in a corruption and money-laundering probe. Police later admitted that search warrants used in the case were “unlawfully obtained.”
According to Abramovich’s team, no charges have been filed, and he is now pressing new “conspiracy” claims against Jersey’s government.