Roman Abramovich declares assets

Roman Abramovich declares assets

Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch, has declared his assets for the first time in more than a decade, disclosing that he has 16 properties, seven cars, 22 bank accounts, six companies, and one football club.

The 44-year-old businessman and owner of Chelsea Football Club made the declaration as part of a campaign to run for re-election as a local MP in Chukotka, a remote region in Russia's far east which he used to run on the Kremlin's behalf.

The disclosure is part of President Dmitry Medvedev's anti-corruption drive as he pushes all politicians to declare their assets.

Mr Abramovich's declaration listed seven properties in Britain, two in the United States, three in France, and four in Russia.

They are known to include two houses in Lowndes Square, Belgravia, which are together estimated to be worth up to £150 million; a house in the South of France once used by Edward VIII and Wallace Simpson which he is thought to have spent £30 million; his main Moscow residence, two properties in Aspen, Colorado together worth £30 million, and a luxurious residence in the Caribbean worth £56 million.

The publicity-shy tycoon also disclosed that he owned seven cars, mostly a mixture of high-end Mercedes and BMWs that would altogether cost an estimated £650,000 to buy new.

On top of that, he said he had the equivalent of £71.78 million in cash spread across 22 separate bank accounts and a further £25.48 million tied up in shares.

Including Mr Abramovich's industrial business empire, his total net worth is estimated at £11 billion, making him Russia's fifth richest man according to Finans magazine.

The estimated value of Chelsea, the Premier League champions and FA Cup holders stands at £402.19 million, according to Forbes magazine. In 2003, he bought the club for £140 million.

A spokesman for Mr Abramovich's asset management company Millhouse said he hoped the list would clear up any misunderstandings about the businessman's wealth.

"It is a very complete declaration and hopefully this will put to rest rumours about other assets that have nothing to do with him," the spokesman, John Mann, said.

But in a country where the gap between the haves and the have-nots is yawning and the average annual wage is just over the equivalent of £5,000, details of Mr Abramovich's wealth accumulation are likely to stir resentment.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, singled out Mr Abramovich for particular criticism in an interview with the Novaya Gazeta newspaper on Wednesday.

"They (the ruling classes) are rich and debauched," he said. "Their ideal is to be something close to Abramovich. I scorn this idea. I am ashamed of this rich debauchery. I am ashamed for us and the country."

Mr Abramovich's declaration is a vast improvement on his 1999 filing in which he claimed he had earned just £254, 865 the previous year, owned no property, and was the proud owner of an old Lada. His latest declaration for some reason made no mention of his collection of private jets and yachts.

Analysts said Mr Abramovich's decision to continue on as a local MP for Chukotka was motivated by a desire to show the Kremlin that he is continuing to put something back into the country that has made him so rich.

Kandinsky, forgery and Israeli connection

Menachem Gantz

A few months ago, three Italians met with a wealthy art loving businessman in Milano Italy and offered him the chance to purchase an unknown painting by Kandinsky called 'K19' which was supposedly painted in 1919. Kandinsky is one of the 20th century's (1866-1944) most famed Russian painters. His paintings include 'The Blue Rider' and 'Composition 8'.

The businessman was excited about the painting and even agreed to pay €3 million ($4.09 million) for it. But his growing fears that the painting was a forgery led him to approach the authorities.

The Milano police department launched an investigation during which they discovered that the painting wasn't a forgery of an existing Kandinsky, rather a painting he had never created.

Milano police believe that the gang members ordered the painting in 2008 from an Israeli artist of Russian origin who created the work of art in the style of Kandinsky's work. So far, three Italians and three Germans have been arrested over the affair. Milano police suspect that in addition to the man responsible for the forgery, two additional Israelis are involved in the con.

The investigation revealed that this is the work of a sophisticated gang: After the fake work of art was completed, it was displayed in a Moscow museum without the museum's management noticing that they had a forgery in their midst. It was then exhibited in a German gallery where the gang had another trick up their sleeve: They purchased the painting from the gallery and only then did they approach the Italian businessman.

Apparently the Israeli forger is more than just a con-artist: It took art experts in Paris three months to be convinced that the painting was in fact, a forgery.