The Portuguese justice investigates the nationalization of Roman Abramovich

The Portuguese justice opened an investigation into the nationalization process of Roman Abramovich, the Russian millionaire owner of the London soccer club Chelsea, who benefited from a law of reparation for descendants of Jews expelled in the fifteenth century.

Asked by AFP, the Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Wednesday “the opening of an investigation related to the aforementioned subject,” said a spokeswoman, without giving another precision.

This investigation is added to another internal investigation of the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN), which had granted Abramovich Portuguese nationality in April.

The Chelsea owner had benefited from a law passed by Portugal in 2013, allowing all descendants of Sephardic Jews, persecuted and expelled at the end of the 15th century, to obtain Portuguese nationality.

A certificate endorsing his ancestors had been provided by the Israelite Community of Porto, the second largest city in Portugal.

tsc/lpt/dr

–