Putin appreciated his cunning, and he cheated Russia for $ 2.7 billion. “Rich and Innocent”

Abramovich, like a good illusionist, can disappear and hide things. When he organized New Year’s Eve parties on his 162-meter yacht, where The Killers, Paul McCartney and Red Hot Chilli Peppers sang, and guests – businessmen, movie stars, musicians and artists – came by helicopters and had a great time all night, they often did not even meet the host. He stood to one side, blending in with the crowd and not soliciting attention. It was the same during the matches. Entry tickets to his box were the most coveted tickets in London, there was a lot to arrange at post-match banquets, but often Abramovich would disappear with the referee’s final whistle, without speaking to anyone.

But these are just curiosities that show that the world’s most famous oligarch has remained a mysterious introvert. More telling were the thefts, bribes and kidnappings in which others disappeared or things seemed to disappear into thin air. For example, in 1992, 55 tankers full of fuel disappeared between Siberia and Moscow. They found themselves in Latvia, but empty. He was supposed to be responsible for everything, who was predicted to be in prison for ten years. But then his signature trick worked again – the investigative material incriminating him magically disappeared. The first big money was left in the wallet.

Various businessmen and politicians warned about Abramovich then: “If you shake his hand, count later if you have all five fingers left.” When he was doing the business of his life – in 1995 Boris Yeltsin, who was running for presidential re-election, needed money, so he was selling state-owned companies to wealthy businessmen – the only competitor who wanted to pay $ 100 million for the state-owned oil company Sibneft disappeared. more than him. Abramovich offered 250 million and won, and 10 years later he sold the company to Gazprom for 13 billion.

In recent days, journalists from “BBC” have found documents summarizing the parliamentary investigation in that case. They show that the Russian government was defrauded by Abramovich for $ 2.7 billion. The investigation was conducted by the prosecutor Yuri Skuratov, who, however, in 1999 disappeared from the scene, ridiculed by a sex scandal in which he was to be framed at the behest of Yeltsin himself. Tricks with disappearing rivals and inconvenient evidence for Abramovich helped him become rich and remain innocent.

Why did Abramovich buy Chelsea? Vladimir Putin used to say: “Abramovich? Sweet for dessert”

There are three stories that explain why Abramovich bought Chelsea: romantic, formidable, and disgusting. And probably each hides some of the truth.

The first story gained the greatest popularity right after Abramovich entered the club. It was dropped off by people around him. He reportedly never liked football, but in April 2003 he was a guest at Old Trafford when Ronaldo Nazario de Lima scored three goals and delighted fans so much that they gave him a standing ovation. The Russian was impressed by the atmosphere and the class of local fans who were able to appreciate the artistry of his rival. Already at the stadium, he was to say that he wanted to have his own club. English is necessary, because in no other country have the stands responded so lively to the game. He considered Arsenal and Tottenham but bet on Chelsea and he ended up with football as we knew it. He made transfers that no one dreamed of, he downloaded and quickly gave fans the first title in 55 years. He did not give interviews, his relatives spoke for him. That Mr. Roman was already bored on yachts and wanted new entertainment. That he does not want to earn money at the club, but wants to win at all costs. And that he dreams of great things.

But according to the second story, Abramovich was not looking for another entertainment in London. Or at least – not only that. He did not buy another expensive toy, but above all, recognition in the West and the support of fans who were even happy that their owner had 14 billion dollars on his account and wears jeans like them. Abramovich was coming out of the shadows because he was afraid of Vladimir Putin. He was arranged with Yeltsin, he belonged to his “family”, took care of the full purse and could whisper in his ear. But Putin, although he had been marking more and more in the Kremlin for several years, was still an unknown. In the backstage, there were rumors that he would choose the oligarchs. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the boss and owner of Yukos, was sent to a penal colony for 10 years. He plucked others and chased them out of Russia. Abramovich, who had similar tax sins on his conscience, felt that he was next in line. London was to be his safe place, and journalists and fans were to be his first defenders.

The German daily “Stern” wrote then that Putin was irritated even by the choral singing of Chelsea fans who shouted to the tune of “Kalinka” that they were filthy rich. “They are singing and we are sitting up to our ears in this mud,” he was to complain. And when his co-workers asked him when he would finally clean up this Abramovich, he would purr menacingly: “Sweet for dessert.”

Meanwhile, the oligarch calculated that only popularity in Europe would increase his security. Before he bought Chelsea he had a lot of money, but only Russian businessmen, politicians and the people of Chukotka, of which he became governor, knew him to avoid paying taxes and make it easier to earn money from selling oil. He needed global recognition so that the whole world would talk about his eventual disappearance. Indeed, when he bought the club, all British newspapers started writing about it.

Instead of fighting, they went hand in hand

Another thing is that Abramovich was a more difficult target for Putin than Khodorkovsky, because under Yeltsin he almost lived in the Crimea. He knew a lot. Apparently, Putin appreciated his cunning and intelligence, so instead of fighting him, he preferred to win him to his side. And Abramowicz did not refrain from doing business with the president, and for the sake of cooperation he gave him a private television, so that he could additionally stimulate his propaganda. In the following years, the oligarchs’ companies intersected with the state-owned companies many times, and Putin helped Abramovich quickly obtain visas so that he could conquer the West without any obstacles, to the glory of both himself and Russia.

It seemed to be of reason, not love. Their cooperation has been talked about for years, but each time the environment of the Chelsea owner immediately responded that Roman was apolitical and had little in common with power. It portrayed him as a successful businessman and philanthropist who happened to be Russian. The doubts, however, were obvious. The vast majority of the oligarchs who got along well with Yeltsin fought against Putin and usually lost their fortunes. Abramovich was an exception.

In 2018, after Russian spies poisoned Sergei Skripal in the UK, who had acted as a double agent for intelligence services in the 1990s, authorities delayed the extension of Abramovich’s business visa by demanding clarification from him about the interests he was doing with Putin. But instead of explaining the Russian, he turned to Israel, where his Jewish origin allowed him to obtain citizenship. On the basis of an Israeli passport, he could easily visit Great Britain thanks to a tourist visa.

In the book “Putin’s People”, which has only just entered the Polish market, but has already been nominated for prestigious awards in the UK, journalist Catherine Belton writes that it was Putin himself who gave Abramovich the idea of ​​buying Chelsea. Another oligarch, Sergei Pugachev, told her about it, who was supposed to hear from Putin that he wanted to improve Russia’s image in this way and lay the foundations for business cooperation with Great Britain, and at the same time put pressure on it more effectively. The world organization seemed an easy target to him, because it has been known to be corrupt for years. Putin became friends with its successive presidents and hosted the 2018 World Cup, which was to show ordinary Russians that they live in the center of the world. Abramovich also contributed to this. Putin himself recalled his merits at a press conference.

Abramowicz sued the author, marked 26 defamatory fragments in the book, and the publishing house settled and removed some of them, others clarified. Interestingly, the oligarch’s lawyers first of all assured that he did not act under anyone’s pressure when buying Chelsea, but did not deny his multi-faceted and long-term cooperation with Putin, which Belton also wrote about.

Sport washing, or using sport to improve the image, was great for both Abramovich and Putin. The oligarch, instead of being associated with a stolen fuel train, for many people he became a good, rich uncle who loves football and has a momentum, and Putin’s Russia showed a prettier face during the World Cup, Euro and club finals.

The disappearance trick doesn’t work. Abramovich is finished

Only now have ties with Putin and such great popularity in the West seriously damaged Abramovich. He is the face of the oligarchs, so his name was on the banners of politicians when they called in the British parliament for the seizure of the estates and estates of seven of them, whom they identified as Putin’s accomplices. In the case of Abramowicz, they referred to government reports from three years ago. It was, among others, for Chelsea owner shares in Norilsk Nickel, a global nickel tycoon, and in steel producer Evrazie. According to a statement by the British government, “this steel could potentially be used in the production of Russian tanks.” Evraz denied it.

For the first time, Abramowicz fails the disappearance trick. People see him at airports, take pictures of him from hiding, and then find his Dreamliner in the sky and follow where he is going. In recent days, he has been shuttling between Israel, Turkey and Russia looking for a safe place. The sanctions imposed by the European Union froze the oligarch’s assets – including the Chelsea club, which he did not manage to sell, and prohibited him from making any transactions in the UK. Abramovich, although many emphasize that he is not the embodiment of all evil and has repeatedly used money to support noble causes, such as the fight against anti-Semitism or helping a regular Chelsea employee suffering from cancer, unnoticed by the media, pays for the unions with Putin. Abramovich takes the blows, but the president of Russia also feels them.

The oligarch, however, cannot be regretted. Although he tried to save the image, announcing that he would allocate money to help the victims of the war, he did not specify which victims he meant – the attacked Ukrainians or the attacking Russians. Putin’s war never condemned. Now he is fleeing and trying desperately to protect his assets by sailing a 600 million dollar yacht from Barcelona to the coast of non-EU Montenegro. He himself was to be in Israel in recent days, which had been his safe haven for several years. But that was over. The government there made clear that there would be no way for Abramovich to avoid sanctions. The Holocaust Remembrance Institute, which had benefited from his generosity for years, also despised any further help. They all seem to smell Abramovich’s money. But there is no point in counting on permanent reflection. W is already growing a giant fed with the money of a state that has been waging a war in Yemen for seven years, which has already claimed 380,000. people. The Premier League has nothing against it, however, and the Saudis were undoubtedly encouraged to invest in the nearly two decades of Roman Empire success. The king is dead? Long live the king.