The leader of the Jewish community in Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, was stopped at the airport there as he was about to fly to Israel last Thursday.
according to Times of Israel And the BBC The rabbi is accused of money laundering and corruption in connection with obtaining a Portuguese passport for Roman Abramovich and others.
The rabbi had to give up his passport so that he could not leave Portugal.
Roman Abramovich is one of a group of Russian oligarchs who have been sanctioned by Britain.
The Premier League board prevents him from holding positions on the club’s board of directors.
Abramovich had already relinquished control of Chelsea, and announced that a sale was on the way.
Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in England. The photo shows owner Abramovich with the players when the team won the Champions League in 2012.
Photo: Andrew Canridge/Reuters
Portugal’s prosecutors have launched an investigation into how the owner of Chelsea Football Club obtained his citizenship. With this passport, the oligarch was able to move freely between the countries of the European Union.
Abramovich’s Portuguese citizenship was under investigation even before the Russian invasion, but intensified after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, The Times of Israel writes.
Some Jews can get citizenship
The Israeli newspaper wrote that some Jews have the right to Portuguese citizenship.
Roman Abramovich is Jewish and already holds Russian and Israeli citizenship.
The reason Jews are in a special status is a law from 2013. It states that the descendants of tens of thousands of Jews who were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in the 17th century, may return there.
The law should specify that it applies to descendants of Sephardic Jews.
In Russia, apparently, it is not Sephardic Jews, but Ashkenazi Jews, as the Israeli newspaper wrote.
suspected of corruption
The Portuguese authorities handed out a lot of background checks for Jews who wanted Portuguese passports to two organizations.
Putin and Abramovich together. The photo is from 2010.
Photo: Alexei Nikolsky / AP
One is the Jewish community in Porto, led by Rabbi Daniel Litvak.
The BBC wrote that he is now under investigation for possible money laundering, fraud and corruption.
The police suspect that Jews, including the owner of Chelsea Football Club, paid money under the table in order to obtain a passport to an EU country.
The police were said to have confiscated the passport of the rabbi, who is under police investigation.
Relations with Putin
Abramovich is said to have close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In 1999, he was elected a member of the Russian National Assembly, the Duma. For eight years he was the governor of the Chukotka region, from 2000 to 2008.
The owner of Chelsea FC and the oligarch Abramovich are said to have close ties to President Putin. The photo is from 2005 when he was the former governor.
Photo: Reuters Photographer / Reuters
Abramovich has owned Chelsea Football Club since 2003.
The penalties have dire consequences for the well-known English club.
Chelsea cannot buy players, extend contracts or sell match tickets. Additionally, several of the club’s major sponsors have pulled out, at least until further notice.
Shirt sponsor Three actually did it before the weekend, and on Saturday Hyundai followed suit.
Spitting billions of kroner, Roman Abramovich made the club one of the largest and most successful football clubs in the world.
Then there were better days for the owner and the club. Roman Abramovich celebrates the Stanford Bridge Series Championship in May 2015.
Photo: Tony O’Brien/Reuters
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