QUESTIONS RAISED

Rabbi Arrested After Probe Into Russian Oligarch’s Portuguese Citizenship

The arrest follows an investigation into how Roman Abramovich, a close Putin confidant, became a Portuguese citizen in 2021.

Police in Porto, Portugal, confirmed to the Associated Press that a rabbi has been arrested for his alleged role in helping Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich become a Portuguese citizen. Local media claim Rabbi Daniel Litvak was detained Thursday and is being investigated on suspicions that he has corruptly helped non-citizens become citizens through a law that naturalizes the descendants of Sephardic Jews who were once forced to flee the Iberian peninsula. Investigators reportedly suspect that Litvak allegedly helped some applicants take advantage of the law through illegal paperwork. The arrest follows a probe into how Abramovich, a close confidant of Vladimir Putin, became a Portuguese citizen in 2021.