The Government of Portugal authorized this Thursday the sale of Chelseaa necessary procedure so that the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who also has Portuguese nationality, can carry out the operation.
Portugal has authorized the transaction after “the guarantee given by the British authorities” that proceeds from the operation “will be used for humanitarian purposes” and will not benefit the owner “directly or indirectly”, explained the Portuguese Foreign Ministry in a statement on Thursday.
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Approval depended on the Foreign and Finance Ministries, which granted a “humanitarian derogation, allowing the English club to be compromised” at Abramovich’s request.
This decision “has the agreement of the European Commission”, underlines the text. This was the last step necessary to proceed with the operation, valued at 4,970 million euros, after receiving the green light from the British Government and the Premier League on Wednesday.
Roman Abramovich, in Göteborg, in 2021
The authorization of Portugal was necessary because Abramovich has had Portuguese nationality since last year and is on the list of those sanctioned by the European Union.
Abramovich was forced to put Chelsea up for sale as a result of sanctions imposed by the war in Ukraine and wants to transfer it to a consortium led by billionaire Todd Boehly, owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
The oligarch, with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was sanctioned by the European Union on March 15, which determines to freeze his assets and prevents citizens and companies from the community bloc from making funds available to him.
Those sanctioned are also subject to a ban on travel, entry or transit through EU territories, although Abramovich could enter Portugal by obtaining Portuguese nationality through a law that grants a Portuguese passport to descendants of Sephardic Jews.
The process is under investigation for alleged irregularities with the certificates proving his Jewish ancestry.
