Israel’s official Holocaust museum is imploring the US to exclude Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich from sanctions because it’s worried it will hurt donations.
Abramovich, who’s among Russia’s best-known oligarchs, and was born to a Jewish family, just last week made a ‘generous’, eight-figure donation to Yad Vashem, a spokesman said.
Although the extent of his long-term contributions isn’t known, Abramovich – who immigrated to Israel in 2018 – has given more than $500 million to Israeli and Jewish causes in recent years, the Times of Israel reported.
As talk of sanctions began in early February in anticipation of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Yab Vashem and other organizations in a letter to US Ambassador Tom Nides called for Abramovich to be exempted from any financial punishments.
Abramovich, 55, is Yad Vashem’s second-largest private donor, the Washington Post reported. He is best-known for his ownership of Chelsea Football Club in London, but has announced his plans to sell the soccer side after war erupted in Ukraine.
Yad Vashem, Israeli’s largest Holocaust remembrance center, counts Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich as among its most generous donors. The Jerusalem museum’s Hall of Names is pictured on April 6, 2021
The World Holocaust Remembrance Center on February 22 announced a long-term partnership with Abramovich to promote Holocaust research and education and combat anti-Semitism.
‘We are deeply grateful to Roman Abramovich for this generous contribution that will significantly strengthen Yad Vashem’s mission,’ Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan said in a statement. ‘…We know that this strategic partnership will lead to the further expansion and deepening of Yad Vashem’s activities in Israel and around the world.’
But as Russia’s war on Ukraine entered a seventh day, pressure was growing on international governments to include Abramovich among the wealthy Russians to be targeted in sanctions.
Abramovich is worth $12 billion US, according to Forbes, and owns a $200 US Kensington mansion, a $29 million US penthouse, and more than $1.6 billion US of yachts, private jets, helicopters and supercars internationally.
Abramovich, who immigrated to Israel from Russia in 2018, is worth an estimated $12 billion US and recently contributed an eight-figure donation to Yad Yashem
On Monday, Abramovich confirmed that his Chelsea Football Club is for sale at a cost of £3billion, or about $4 billion US. He said proceeds of the prospective sale will be donated to victims of war in Ukraine.
Russia on Wednesday stepped up its attacks on Ukraine’s major cities as officials in Mariupol said a ‘full-scale genocide’ was underway. Vladimir Putin’s men unleashed a 15-hour artillery barrage while Kharkiv also came under heavy bombardment in a dark sign of what could be to come in the capital Kyiv.
Mariupol, located in the south of Ukraine on the Black Sea, has been surrounded by Russian forces and struck by artillery in an apparent attempt to bomb the city into submission as Putin’s men resort to ‘medieval’ tactics. Sergiy Orlov, the deputy mayor, said entire districts had been levelled with such heavy barrages that medics cannot get in to retrieve the dead.
‘We are near to a humanitarian catastrophe,’ he said. ‘Russian forces are several kilometers away on all sides,’ he added. ‘The Ukrainian army is brave and they will continue to defend the city, but Russia does not fight with their army, they just destroy districts… We are in a terrible situation.’
Ukraine’s interior minister reported 352 civilians dead and over 1,600 injured this past Sunday, a mere four days after the invasion began.
DailyMail.com reported on Wednesday morning that the club had been put on the market as Abramovich seeks to distance himself from Putin and sanctions imposed on Russia by the west over its devastating and illegal invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement, Abramovich confirmed: ‘I would like to address the speculation in media over the past few days in relation to my ownership of Chelsea FC.
‘As I have stated before, I have always taken decisions with the Club’s best interest at heart. In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the Club, as I believe this is in the best interest of the Club, the fans, the employees, as well as the Club’s sponsors and partners.’
On Monday, Abramovich confirmed that his Chelsea Football Club is for sale at a cost of £3billion, or about $4 billion US
He said proceeds of the prospective sale will be donated to victims of war in Ukraine. Families from Uzbekistan stand outside a Temporary Reception Centre in Korczowa March 2
Ukraine’s interior minister reported 352 civilians dead and over 1,600 injured this past Sunday, a mere four days after the invasion began. A Ukrainian solder walks through debris following a a Russian airstrike in Kyiv on February 26
Abramovich said he will not be asking to be repaid £1.5billion ($2 billion US) in loans he has granted the club during 19 years of injecting cash to elevate the team into one of the most successful in Europe. ‘The sale of the Club will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process. I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid,’ he said.
‘This has never been about business nor money for me, but about pure passion for the game and Club. Moreover, I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated.
‘The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine. This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.’
Abramovich is worth $12 billion US, according to Forbes, and owns a $200 US Kensington mansion, a $29 million US penthouse, and more than $1.6 billion US of yachts, private jets, helicopters and supercars internationally
The speed of Abramovich’s pending exit from Chelsea is striking as he was trying to instigate a plan this past weekend to relinquish some control in order to keep the club under his ownership.
Earlier, it was reported that the billionaire had already begun a ‘fire sale’ of his sprawling London portfolio as he tries to offload Chelsea and his properties, with an MP claiming the Russian billionaire is acting quickly to stop his assets being frozen.
Chris Bryant, using parliamentary privilege to avoid legal action, alleged the tycoon is selling his home and an apartment because he is ‘terrified of being sanctioned’, adding that he feared the government will soon run out of time to act.
