Portugal has granted citizenship to Russian oligarch and Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich, Portugal’s government said Thursday.
“The Institute of Registers and Notaries confirms the existence of a procedure for naturalisation in the name of Roman Abramovich,” a justice ministry spokesman said.
“He proved he was a descendant of Portuguese Sephardi Jews through a certificate delivered by the Israelite community of Porto,” he said, and his bid received “a favourable decision on April 13” this year.
Portugal has since 2015 offered Portuguese nationality to Sephardi Jews by way of reparation for the expulsions and persecution suffered by their ancestors at the end of the 15th century.
The billionaire has also been granted Israeli citizenship.
Abramovich is worth more than $14 billion (12.3 billion euros), according to Forbes. He ranked 142nd on the magazine’s 2021 list of the globe’s billionaires.
