Jersey police 'unlawfully searched premises linked to Roman Abramovich'

The police force will now pay damages and apologise to the billionaire

Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich.. PA

Premises linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich were unlawfully searched by police on Jersey, and the force has agreed to pay damages and apologise, according to a legal document.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the West imposed the most severe sanctions in history on Russian officials and businessmen, freezing hundreds of billions of dollars in assets.

On April 12, the Royal Court of Jersey imposed a formal freezing order on $7 billion worth of assets linked to Mr Abramovich, who made a fortune in the 1990s.

Police carried out searches of premises suspected of being connected to the billionaire.

But the legality of the search warrants issued the same day was challenged by the companies searched.

Two warrants were issued to search premises claimed to be connected to Mr Abramovich's business activities.

In a consent order dated November 9, Jersey police acknowledged that "the search warrants were obtained unlawfully" and agreed "that the search warrants should be quashed", a copy of the document, seen by Reuters, showed.

Oligarchs sanctioned by the UK - in pictures

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  The UK has sanctioned more than 1,400 individuals and businesses, including 100 oligarchs and their relatives, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The list of oligarchs includes: Roman Abramovich, 55. PA

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  Katerina Tikhonova, left, and Maria Vorontsova, unseen, also known as Maria Putina, daughters of Russia President Vladimir Putin. Reuters

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  Oleg Deripaska, 54. The industrialist is worth £2 billion and has had close links with the British political establishment. He has a multimillion pound property portfolio in the UK. Reuters

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  Igor Sechin, 61. Officials described Mr Sechin as Mr Putin's right-hand man and the second most important person in the country. Reuters

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  Andrey Kostin, 65. The chairman of VTB, a Russian state-owned bank. Mr Kostin is also a member of the supreme council of the United Russia political party and deemed a close associate of Mr Putin. AP Photo

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  Alexei Miller, 60. The chief executive of energy company Gazprom, Russia's largest company and the world's biggest public energy supplier. AFP

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  Nikolai Tokarev, 71, president of the Russia state-owned pipeline company Transneft. Mr Tokarev is a former KGB officer who served with Mr Putin in East Germany towards the end of the Cold War. AP Photo

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  Kirill Shamalov, 39. He is Russia's youngest billionaire and the ex-husband of Mr Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova. Reuters

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  Pyotr Fradkov, 43. He is head of the sanctioned Promsvyazbank, which finances Russian defence industries, and the son of Mikhail Fradkov, a former prime minister of Russia and chief of its foreign intelligence service. Reuters

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  Denis Bortnikov, 47. The deputy president of government-affiliated VTB bank. His father, Alexander Bortnikov, is head of the Federal Security Service. Getty Images

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  Yury Slyusar, 47. The director of United Aircraft Corporation, one of the major defence organisations that has also been sanctioned. Getty Images

Jersey police said the investigation was led by the Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit based in the Law Officers' Department, and that it was not appropriate to comment on "a live investigation".

The Law Officers' Department did not reply to a request for comment.

The legal document said a Jersey police officer on secondment to the Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit made the search warrant applications.

Police also agreed to pay damages and costs, and apologise to Mr Abramovich, the document said.

They confirmed that all copies of documents seized in the searches had been destroyed.

Superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs - in pictures

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  Two superyachts linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich were spotted on the Turkish coast on Tuesday, 'Eclipse' and 'My Solaris'. Mr Abramovich is among several wealthy Russians added to an EU blacklist as governments act to seize their yachts and other luxury assets. AP

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  'My Solaris', a superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, is pictured in Bodrum, south-west Turkey. Reuters

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  A 68-metre luxury yacht called 'Ragnar', owned by a former KGB officer Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, is pictured at the quay in Narvik, north Norway. AFP

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  The 'Axioma' superyacht belonging to Russian oligarch Dmitrievich Pumpyansky at a port in Gibraltar. Reuters

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  'Crescent', which is believed to belong to Russian oligarch Igor Sechin, is seen docked at Marina Port Tarraco in Tarragona, Spain. Reuters

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  The yacht 'Tango', owned by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, at Palma de Mallorca Yacht Club on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Reuters

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  The 48m long, St Vincent and the Grenadines-flagged yacht 'Lady Anastasia', owned by Alexander Mijeev, moored at a dock in Mallorca. AFP

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  Superyacht 'Valerie', linked to chief of Russian state aerospace and defence conglomerate Rostec Sergei Chemezov, at Barcelona Port in Spain. Reuters

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  The 142.81m sail-assisted motor yacht 'Sailing Yacht A', owned by Russian tycoon Andrey Melnichenko, in front of Monaco harbour. Reuters

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  'Dilbar', a luxury yacht owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, sails in the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters

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  'La Datcha', owned by Russian businessman Oleg Tinkov, docked at the port in Ensenada, Mexico. Reuters

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  'Lady M', owned by Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov, docked at Imperia's harbour. AFP

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  Superyatch 'Amore Vero,' which French authorities have said is linked to Rosneft's CEO Igor Sechin, is seen at La Ciotat Port near Marseille in France. Reuters

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  'Quantum Blue', Russian billionaire Sergei Galitsky's yacht, docked in the port of Monaco. AFP

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  The world's largest expedition yacht, 'Luna', owned by Roman Abramovich, at the port of Sibenik in Croatia. Shutterstock

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  The luxury 68m superyacht 'Triple Seven,' owned by Alexander Abramov, on the River Thames in London. EPA

"Mr Abramovich has always acted in accordance with the law, we are pleased that the Jersey Police have conceded in relation to these unlawful and unfounded searches," his spokeswoman said.

It was not immediately clear what effect the admission of unlawful searches would have on the $7bn freeze.

Mr Abramovich, who also holds Israeli citizenship, was one of the most powerful businessmen who earned fortunes after the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union. Forbes has put his net worth at $8.7bn.

A commodity trader who thrived in the disorder of the 1990s under president Boris Yeltsin, he acquired stakes in the Sibneft oil company, Rusal aluminium producer and Aeroflot airline that were later sold.

Under President Vladimir Putin, Mr Abramovich served as governor of the remote Arctic region of Chukotka in Russia's Far East.

He has been involved in attempts to find a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine, thus far without any success.

Chelsea's Roman Abramovich and other Russians have assets frozen after UK sanctions - video

Britain has imposed sanctions on Mr Abramovich as a "pro-Kremlin oligarch."

"Abramovich is associated with a person who has been, and is, involved in destabilising Ukraine and undermining and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, namely President Vladimir Putin," the UK Sanctions List says.

Supporters of Mr Abramovich, who never gives interviews, say that such assertions are unproven and fail to understand the business climate of post-Soviet Russia.