Russian oligarch Abramovich is seen at an Israeli airport

Russian oligarch under Western sanctions Roman Abramovich was seen at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on Monday, shortly before a plane linked to him took off for Istanbul.

A photograph obtained by Reuters showed Abramovich, owner of the British soccer club Chelsea, sitting in the airport’s VIP lounge with a mask on his chin.

Reuters was unable to independently verify that the tycoon actually boarded the flight.

Abramovich, who also has Israeli and Portuguese citizenship, was one of seven Russian billionaires added to Britain’s sanctions list on Thursday as part of efforts to isolate President Vladimir Putin over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While this Monday the main diplomats of the 27 countries of the European Union (EU) agreed to add Abramovich to the list of Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the bloc. Abramovich has denied that he has close ties to Putin.

A person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters the plane used by Abramovich flew to Ben Gurion late on Sunday from Moscow. Flight tracking website Radarbox said the plane, which has the tail number LX-RAY, took off for Istanbul on Monday.

Abramovich has already been subject to sanctions by the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries along with other Russian oligarchs for his alleged close relationship with Putin, and the EU decision comes after the Premier League stripped him on Saturday of the permission of leader of the Chelsea, another step after the freezing of its assets by the British Government.

The inclusion of Abramovich in the new list of sanctions coincides with the opening of an investigation by Portugal to check if there were irregularities in the granting of the nationality that was granted to him as a descendant of Sephardic Jews.

However, the presence of the tycoon in Israel fueled the controversy, after the media and analysts warned that the country could become a tax haven for Russian oligarchs of Jewish origin who seek to settle and invest to avoid international sanctions.

The Jewish state has not imposed sanctions on Russia for now, with which it maintains a “measured” stance due to its security alliance in the Middle East, and several Jewish billionaires associated with their proximity to the Kremlin have had an Israeli passport for years.

Beyond major investments and business initiatives in the country, some have also made significant financial donations to non-profit projects of various kinds, both in Israel and in the rest of the Jewish world.

For his part, Abramovich took Israeli citizenship in 2018 and became the second richest person in the country.

Two days before the invasion of Ukraine, he made a millionaire donation to the Jerusalem Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem, but the institution decided to forgo the money and announced that it was cutting ties with the tycoon two weeks later.

The United States has recently urged Israel to join the sanctions against Russia and its oligarchs.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said:Israel will not be a way to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and other Western countries.”

As specified, several ministries such as Foreign, Finance, Economy or Energy are reviewing this matter together with the Bank of Israel or the Airports Authority.