CHARITY CASE

Russian Billionaire Sues After His Aid to Israel is Blocked

Sanctioned billionaire Roman Abramovich is struggling to fund an Israeli NGO.

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine caused major headaches for its diaspora of billionaires, including steel magnate Roman Abramovich, who was forced to sell his Premier League soccer club, Chelsea, and wound up sanctioned by the European Union and United Kingdom. Now, those penalties are curbing Abramovich’s ability to support Israel during its war with Hamas.

This week, Abramovich, who also holds Israeli citizenship, sued the Israeli bank Mizrahi-Tefahot for blocking more than $2 million in donations to Zaka, a nonprofit group that conducts search and rescue and body recovery missions. Zaka joined him as a plaintiff, according to the Israeli publication Calcalist.

“The issue at hand, stemming from circumstances beyond our control, is the bank's unreasonable refusal to allow an urgently needed donation to the ZAKA organization, both to prevent organizational collapse and to assist volunteers coping with the difficult mental aftermath of the war,” the lawsuit alleged.

It has been a bad month for the businessman. Last week, a European Union court rejected his attempt to lift the sanctions against him, finding that his work with the Russian steel industry justified the penalties.

Worth an estimated $9 billion, according to Forbes, Abramovich got rich after acquiring a stake in a Russian oil company, Sibneft, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, when many formerly state-controlled assets were sold at rock-bottom prices. In 2005, Abramovich offloaded his share of the business for $13 billion.

After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, Abramovich was pictured at peace talks between the two nations, with reports claiming that he was trying to act as a “middleman.” He agreed to donate the funds from his Chelsea sale to benefit Ukraine, but that money is now being blocked, too.

According to The Wall Street Journal, British authorities want the $3 billion to be used exclusively to help Ukraine, while Abramovich is seeking to use it on other causes, as well. If the money is released, experts fear “Abramovich would use the money to whitewash his reputation,” the outlet reported, or that “the funds could end up in the hands of Kremlin allies or in places that have nothing to do with Ukraine.”

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Noah KirschWealth and Power Reporter

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