Roman Abramovich's Jersey Ties: From 2016 Asset Relocation to Ongoing 2025 Legal Battles and Asset Freezes

In 2016, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich began deepening his financial connections with Jersey, a British Crown dependency known for its offshore services, by relocating several linked companies from the British Virgin Islands to Jersey. Reports from the time also indicate he was offered residency rights in Jersey amid uncertainties with his UK visa, though he did not accept them. This marked the start of what appeared to be a mutually beneficial relationship, allowing Abramovich to manage substantial assets through Jersey-based trusts. However, the landscape shifted dramatically following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, when Jersey authorities froze approximately $7 billion in assets suspected to be connected to him, citing potential money laundering and ties to sanctioned activities. Abramovich has consistently denied any wrongdoing, labelling the investigation "baseless and unlawful." The saga escalated in 2025: On June 5, the Jersey Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against the refusal of judicial review for the asset freeze, upholding the Royal Court's earlier decisions. By November, long-standing privacy orders were lifted, publicly revealing five judgments related to the criminal probe and freezes, with Abramovich alleging a "conspiracy" by the Jersey government while the $7 billion remains immobilised.

This timeline underscores the transition from early financial alliances to intensified scrutiny amid global geopolitical tensions.

2016–2017 - Jersey residency rights and business permissions

• It all started well in 2016 - The Government of Jersey granted MR Abramovich high-net-worth residency rights.
• As a result, a business licence was issued to A Limited, a company then ultimately owned by Mr Abramovich.
• Substantial assets from trusts of which Mr Abramovich was the discretionary beneficiary were also moved into Jersey during this period.
• Jersey officials considered an application related to A Limited and compiled a report using open-source information about Mr Abramovich’s background and associations.
• The former Attorney General received the report and entered discussions with UK contacts about individuals connected with Mr Abramovich.
• The report highlighted reputation risks and potential money laundering risks due to Mr Abramovich’s association with President Putin – though it stated that it relied on uncorroborated open-source information.

2022 Ukraine invasion and start of Jersey investigations

• Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, sanctions action intensified across allied jurisdictions.
• On 1 March 2022, the Government of Jersey publicly announced that it was examining Russian-linked assets held in the Island.
• By 10 March, Mr Abramovich himself had become subject to Jersey sanctions, at a time when he had already been designated under UK and EU regimes.
• On 31 March, the External Relations Minister issued a formal notice to A Limited requiring information about assets connected to Mr Abramovich under the Sanctions and Asset Freezing (Jersey) Law 2019.

12–13 April 2022 -  Asset freeze and search warrants

• On 12 April 2022, the Attorney General successfully applied to freeze assets worth more than $7 billion, which were suspected to be connected to Mr Abramovich.
• This was sought to support two live investigations:
• Possible breaches of Jersey’s sanctions laws, and
• A broader money-laundering inquiry based on the belief that the assets derived substantially from the sale of the Russian oil company Sibneft.
• On the same day, the States of Jersey Police obtained and executed search warrants at premises in St Helier allegedly linked to Mr Abramovich, seizing documents and devices.
• 13 April, the Attorney General issued a short public statement confirming that assets had been imposed and that searches had taken place.
• The statement was removed from the government website in October that year.

Late 2022 -  Challenge to the search warrants

• In November 2022, the lawfulness of the search warrants was challenged, and the States of Jersey Police admitted that the warrants had been obtained unlawfully.
• The force agreed to pay damages and apologise.
• A further Royal Court judgment, delivered on 23 January 2023, set out the circumstances behind the unlawful warrants and reaffirmed that the broader criminal investigation remained focused on suspected money-laundering activity and potential sanctions breaches involving assets linked to Mr Abramovich.

2023 - Steps taken by Mr Abramovich and the police

• On 22 March 2023, Mr Abramovich’s lawyers issued a pre-action letter to the Attorney General seeking an end to the money-laundering investigation.
• Less than a month later, Mr Abramovich made a series of Subject Access Requests to Jersey authorities and the States police in an attempt to identify what information had been held when his residency approvals were granted.
• By mid-2023, the States police had applied for production orders against the entities linked to Mr Abramovich. The two entities resisted the applications, arguing that the investigation was inherently unlawful because the Attorney General had long possessed the key information he now claimed justified reopening scrutiny.
• Because production order hearings must be held in private, the court directed that the proceedings be kept confidential, including the identities of the two entities.
• On 13 October 2023, Mr Abramovich escalated matters by issuing an application for judicial review of the Attorney General’s decision to pursue the investigation and simultaneously seeking to have the asset freeze discharged.
• His daughter, Anna Abramovich, was added to the proceedings after it emerged that the beneficial interest in the frozen assets had been transferred to his children before sanctions were imposed.
• A directions hearing on 17 November 2023 ordered that all linked matters — the judicial review bid, the application to unfreeze assets, and overlapping issues from the production-order case — be dealt with together in a rolled-up hearing, which would take place in private.

2024 Hearing and judgments

• The combined hearing was held in private between 28 February and 1 March 2024, with the court reserving judgment.
• On 18 June 2024, the Royal Court delivered two significant rulings. First, in its substantive judgment, it refused leave for judicial review. It declined to discharge the asset freeze, finding that the Attorney General had reasonable grounds for suspicion and was entitled to continue the investigation.
• Second, in its production-order judgment, the court rejected arguments that mirrored the judicial review challenge and allowed the production-order application to continue on its remaining issues.
• The court also sought submissions on whether the judgments should be published and how anonymisation should be approached.
• A further ruling on 27 June 2024 refused Mr Abramovich’s attempt to keep his Subject Access Request proceedings private – an issue which became the subject of a separate appeal.
• On 1 July 2024, the Royal Court ordered him to pay two-thirds of the Attorney General’s costs, taking into account a partial reduction due to the Attorney General’s failure to meet the public-law duty of candour fully.
• On 5 September 2024, the court held that the June judgments should be published, with no anonymisation for Mr Abramovich or his daughter. However, the names of the two related entities and other connected third parties were to remain redacted. However, publication was delayed pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

2025 –

April 2025 - Court of Appeal proceedings

• On 28 April 2025, the Court of Appeal dismissed Mr Abramovich’s appeal against the refusal of judicial review and the asset freeze.
• Issues relating to publication and anonymisation were then addressed at a consequential hearing on 30 May 2025, and the Court of Appeal published its final judgments on 5 June 2025.
• It dismissed the appeal on the merits, upholding the lawfulness of the investigation and the saisie, and separately dismissed the appeal on publication.
• The court confirmed that the Royal Court’s judgments should be released with the specified anonymisation, but granted a further stay to allow Mr Abramovich to seek permission to appeal to the Privy Council.
• The judgments were not published at the time to allow Mr Abramovich to seek permission to appeal to the Privy Council.

In November 2025, the Privy Council refused the applications to appeal.

• The Privy Council refused the applications to appeal, and the judgments were published on November 17
• It comes just days after a spokesperson for Mr Abramovich told national newspapers that he is making “claims of conspiracy” against the Government of Jersey.
• The spokesperson said:
• “We are grateful that Jersey courts have taken these matters seriously, as demonstrated by the fact that Mr Abramovich was allowed earlier this year to introduce claims of conspiracy against the government of Jersey.
• “It should be noted that no charges have been brought against Mr Abramovich in the 3.5 years since the investigation was commenced, and, to our knowledge, in fact no progress has been made on this case.
• “This is not surprising, as this case is entirely baseless – and Mr Abramovich will continue to challenge these claims as well as ensure that the obvious violations of rights are recognised for what they are: an unlawful overreach that must be corrected.”

November 2025 – judgements released

1. Five judgments released in Jersey in November 2025 cover different stages of Roman Abramovich’s battle with the island’s authorities: they reveal how the criminal investigation unfolded, how $7 billion of assets were frozen, and how Abramovich has tried to fight back with claims of conspiracy and misconduct.
2. Breakdown of the Five Judgments
   1. Asset Freezing Order (2022)
      1. Jersey’s Royal Court approved a formal freezing order on $7 billion of Abramovich’s assets, held in trusts and companies linked to him.
      2. This was the foundation of the case, triggered by a criminal investigation into suspected financial misconduct.
      3. Abramovich’s lawyers argued the freeze was disproportionate and politically motivated.
   2. Challenge to the Investigation
      1. Abramovich sought to curtail the criminal investigation, claiming it lacked evidence and was “baseless.”
      2. His team alleged that Jersey authorities had misbehaved, including deleting data and failing to disclose information.
      3. The court upheld the investigation’s continuation, but the judgment revealed the depth of Abramovich’s resistance.
   3. Conspiracy Claim Against Jersey Government
      1. Abramovich filed a civil conspiracy claim, accusing Jersey’s government of colluding to damage him financially and reputationally.
      2. This judgment allowed him to pursue the claim, though the court noted the seriousness of accusing a government of conspiracy.
      3. It marked a shift from defence to counterattack.
   4. Privacy/Gagging Orders
      1. Earlier in the litigation, Abramovich had secured privacy orders to keep proceedings secret.
      2. The November 2025 judgment lifted these gagging orders, making all five decisions public.
      3. The court justified publication on grounds of public interest and transparency, given the scale of frozen assets.
   5. Trust and Family Wealth Structures
      1. One judgment focused on Abramovich’s trust arrangements and family wealth structures, including assets linked to his daughter Anna.
      2. It revealed how Jersey authorities scrutinised these trusts as part of the investigation.
      3. Abramovich argued they were legitimate estate planning tools, while prosecutors viewed them as potential vehicles for concealment.
   6. In essence, the five judgments chart the progression from asset freeze → investigation challenge → conspiracy claim → privacy battles → trust scrutiny. Together, they expose both the legal mechanics of Jersey’s probe and Abramovich’s aggressive counter-strategy.

Key Developments in Jersey (November 2025)

• Privacy orders lifted
  Jersey’s Royal Court removed gagging orders that had kept Abramovich’s legal battles secret. This made five previously sealed judgments public for the first time.
• Criminal investigation
  Abramovich has been under investigation by Jersey authorities since 2022. The probe led to a formal freezing order on $7 billion worth of assets held in trusts linked to him.
• Abramovich’s response
  His legal team argues the investigation is politically motivated and has accused Jersey’s government of misconduct, including data deletion and nondisclosure. Abramovich has also filed conspiracy claims against the authorities.
• No charges filed
  Despite the investigation running for over three years, no charges have been brought against Abramovich, and his spokesperson claims there has been “no progress” in the case.
• Public interest impact
  The release of judgments is significant because Jersey is a major offshore financial centre. The case highlights tensions between transparency, privacy, and the handling of ultra-high-net-worth individuals’ assets.

Why This Matters

• Transparency shift: Jersey’s decision to publish judgments marks a rare move toward openness in offshore litigation.
• Financial stakes: With billions frozen, the case has implications for Abramovich’s global wealth management.
• Political undertones: Abramovich’s claims of conspiracy suggest the dispute is not just legal but also political, potentially tied to broader sanctions and scrutiny of Russian oligarchs.

CONCLUSION

• In short, November’s news in Jersey centres on the unsealing of Abramovich’s court battles, the ongoing freeze of $7 billion in assets, and his counterclaims of government conspiracy.
• The revelations have pulled a previously hidden dispute into public view, raising questions about Jersey’s legal system and its handling of high-profile financial cases.

SOURCE

• https://app.jerseyeveningpost.com/abramovich-vs-jersey-details-finally-revealed-after-gagging-order-lifted/content.html
• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/roman-abramovich-jersey-court-privacy-wealth-b2865922.html
• https://www.comsuregroup.com/news/jersey-five-abromovich-cases-released-today-a-clash-of-allegations-and-assets/
• https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/abramovich-claims-jersey-criminal-probe-baseless-files-conspiracy-claims/