The British government said on Thursday it had sanctioned two close associates of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying the men had received the largest asset freeze ever imposed in Britain.
Chelsea Football Club director Eugene Tenenbaum and another Abramovich businessmen David Davidovich will be subject to an asset freeze. Davidovich will also face a travel ban, meaning that any ship or aircraft owned, chartered, controlled or operated by him could be detained if it enters Britain,
The government said it had imposed a freezing order on $10 billion worth of assets linked to the two men, who were being sanctioned for their close association with Abramovich, who was among several wealthy Russians added last month to British and European Union sanctions.
"We are tightening the ratchet on Putin's war machine and targeting the circle of people closest to the Kremlin. We will keep going with sanctions until Putin fails in Ukraine. Nothing and no one is off the table," British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.
Abramovich transferred two companies he controlled to Tenenbaum and Davidovich on the day Russia invaded Ukraine, Reuters reported last month.
On Feb. 24, Tenenbaum, a director of Chelsea who is described on the club website as one of Abramovich's "closest associates", took full control of Ervington Investments Limited, which invested in at least eight firms, including Russia's top search engine Yandex.
Ervington has served as an investment vehicle for Abramovich for at least eight years. It was among investors who put $600 million into Yandex in 2020 and who put money into Via, a ride-sharing app.
Also on the first day of Russia's attack on Ukraine, Abramovich moved another company Norma Investments to Davidovich.
Tenenbaum did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters was unable to reach Davidovich immediately for comment.
