Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich relocates to Israel after visa standoff

Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire businessman and owner of the Chelsea FC, immigrated to Israel on Thursday, according to reports in Tel Aviv.

Abramovich’s decision to immigrate to Israel comes amid the recent expiration of the businessman’s work visa in Britain, which may have prompted him to move to Israel with the other owners of the club.

Abramovich’s visa may just be due to a bureaucratic glitch, Per Second News learnt.

The Russian billionaire’s stay in Britain came to a close when his work visa expired and the authorities would not renew his visa, causing the owner of Chelsea to miss his team’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester United on Saturday night.

Following the Sergei Skripal incident, in which a Russian military intelligence officer who acted as a double agent for UK’s intelligence services was poisoned with a nerve agent, tensions have risen between the United Kingdom and Russia.

The Jewish billionaire is in the process of building a mansion in Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek neighborhood.

According to Forbes, Abramovich, at the age of 51, retains a net value of $9.1 billion and was ranked as the 139th richest person in the world and 12th richest person in Russia in 2017.

Abramovich’s business ventures include Millhouse Capital, Evraz (a coal and steel mining company) and Norenickel (a nickel and palladium mining and smelting company).

The Russian oligarch is a frequent visitor of Israel and a  philanthropist  of both the State of Israel and Jewish communities in Russia. Abramovich received a special award from the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia for his contributions of over $500 million over the past 20 years to Jewish causes in Israel and Russia.