- Roman Abramovich tried to sell his Portuguese $10 million property days before the invasion.
- Portugal's second-largest bank flagged the move to the authorities.
- Abramovich's property has been frozen since March 25, according to a new report.
Portuguese authorities have frozen Roman Abramovich's property after he attempted to sell it 15 days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Portuguese newspaper Publico first reported the story.
Abramovich – whose assets include superyachts such as the 533-foot Eclipse worth $700 million and the 456-foot Solaris worth $600 million – acted as a peace mediator between Russia and Ukraine, and was reportedly poisoned.
However, he has been sanctioned by the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland, while the United States is still debating whether to do so as well.
Abramovich owns a property valued at $10 million in Quinta do Lago in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.
Governments have faced challenges determining what assets Russian oligarchs own, which is why Portugal has taken time to determine the property's owner.
The Public report says a shell company set up on behalf of Abramovich, Millhouse Views LLC, is owned by Millhouse LLC, an investment holding company controlled by the Russian tycoon.
According to the report, the company tried to sell the property about two weeks before Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, but Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Portugal's second-largest bank, alerted the authorities. The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has frozen the property since March 25.
Abramovich lost half his net worth after a Jersey court froze $7 billion of his assets. He retains stakes in Russian steel giant Evraz and nickel producer Norilsk Nickel and is still worth almost $9 billion, according to Forbes,
The former owner of Chelsea FC, who recently agreed to sell the football club to Todd Boehly – an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist – claims all the net proceeds will go to Ukraine.