Israel, at the risk of becoming a refuge for Russian Jewish oligarchs

The Russian oligarchs, until recently highly valued in Israel for their investments and patronage, are now a stone in the shoe. The country, which has not sanctioned Russia, may become a haven for Jewish tycoons seeking to circumvent sanctions and get away from the Kremlin entourage.

The names of Roman Abramovich and other billionaires of Jewish origin associated with Putin they are not strangers to Israel: many have been investing in companies and economic initiatives for years; and they also make millionaire donations to non-profit projects related to the Holocaust or world Jewish affairs.

Some already obtained Israeli citizenship years ago and many of them have close ties to the business world and the country’s political class. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine put the tycoons in the eye of the hurricane, and In recent weeks, the flow of private planes from Russia landing at Tel Aviv airport, attributed by the media to Russian oligarchs, has increased.

The alerts also came from United States. A senior officer of the Secretary of state last week urged Israel to join the measures against Russia and warned of the possibility of it becoming a “a haven for the dirty money that fuels Putin’s wars.”

Western pressure forced the Israeli foreign minister to react, Yair Lapidwho asserted that Israel will not serve as “way to circumvent sanctions on Russia” imposed by the United States or the European Union (EU), and in view of this, it launched a committee with several ministries that reviews the issue together with the Bank of Israel wave Airports Authority.

However, in the face of the wave of Western sanctions, Several analysts point out that many Jewish oligarchs would find it easy to obtain shelter in Israel, where they could carry on with their businesses and continue to make their fortunes run without severe restrictions.

Israel has not applied sanctions to Russia because it prioritizes preserving its strategic alliance with Moscow in the Middle East, and on the other hand it has favorable tax legislation for people of Jewish origin who decide to settle in the country.

Upon obtaining nationality, all immigrants benefit from a law that exempts them from paying taxes or justifying the origin of their income abroad for the first ten years.

This makes Israel “a temporary tax haven” that this time could attract a new “wave of wealthy Jewish immigrants from Russia”emphasize experts in taxation in the economic digital globes. Lawyers and accountants in Israel have seen an exponential increase in assignments from wealthy Russian clients.

Since the first sanctions against Moscow for the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, many Jewish Russian oligarchs have already taken advantage of the call Law of Return and they took an Israeli passport, so they benefited from that advantageous legislation and allocated part of their abundant capital to Israel without exhaustive controls.

Among them is Chelsea owner Abramovich. In 2018 he became a citizen and became the second richest person in the country. He also has Israeli nationality Mikhail Fridman, one of the shareholders of DIA supermarkets and subject to sanctions.

Now, before the siege imposed on Russia, even more billionaires could join, he explains Roman Bronfmanformer deputy of the Israeli leftist party Meretz and of Ukrainian origin.

Israel “It has become a paradise for laundering money, especially Russian, coming from a gray and unclear area”as the oligarchs’ profits are tied to their ties to the Kremlin and possible corrupt links to Putin, he says.

“This Russian system is like a mafia state, and the tycoons are part of the mechanism.”denounces Bronfman, who believes that the Israeli Executive must regularize and take stricter measures to prevent the flow of Russian capital without transparency or accountability.

In addition, the influence of Russian millionaires with the Israeli elites themselves could facilitate the process of settling in the country. In fact, three of the main television networks (Channel 9, 13 and 14) are in the hands of Jewish oligarchs from countries of the former Soviet Union who made their opaque fortune in Russia, partly among Putin circles, according to Bronfman.

Among the Israeli government there are ministers linked to Russia or its tycoons: the Minister of Finance, Avigdor Libermanhimself born in the USSR, has been considered close to the Kremlin. Another minister of Ukrainian origin, Zeev Elkinreceived donations from oligarchs in electoral campaigns, just like the head of Justice, Guideon Saar.

The oligarchs’ network of contacts goes further and would include the vast Russian-speaking community in Israel, where 1.2 million people emigrated from countries of the former Soviet bloc reside.

“You must be very careful because these guys have connections and they could call you on the phone to ask you for things”recently warned Yair Lapid in a Cabinet meeting with the rest of the ministers, according to local media.

“Don’t commit to anything”added the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who warned of the “diplomatic damage” that the oligarchs could cause to Israel, an issue on the table still pending resolution.