The owner of the Chelsea football club Roman Abramovich tried to obtain a residence permit in Switzerland, they write Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung. According to publications, the Russian businessman wanted to settle in the exclusive ski resort of Verbier, but changed his mind in 2017 after his application was previously rejected.
On February 2, the court in Zurich decided to prohibit newspapers Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung from publishing further details of the case, namely, to report on the reasons why Abramovich withdrew his application for residence in that country, writes The Times. The media themselves claim that they know the motivation of the billionaire, but they can not tell about it now. The representative of the businessman refused to comment on this information.
"Our editorial team will continue to struggle to lift the ban. The background of this story is likely to be of great public interest, "SonntagsZeitung said in a statement.
Le Matin Dimanche writes that in the summer of 2016 the billionaire applied for a residence permit to the municipality of Banje, where Verbier is located, and to the migration service of the canton of Valais.
"Given his financial situation, he would be a very interesting taxpayer for the commune and the canton, and we issued a positive conclusion," said the head of the immigration office of the canton, Valle Jacques de Lavallas.
Nevertheless, in the municipality of Banier reported that they received a negative response from the authorities of the canton, the reasons for the refusal are unknown. "The Bagnier Migration Board received information from the Canton Population and Migration Service that it had not been granted a residence permit. This happens rarely, "said the head of the migration service Banje Stefan Mislo.
In July 2017, the businessman, as they write Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung, withdrew the application, and in November last year sent a personal appeal addressed to the head of the Federal Police, Nicoletta della Valle, with a request to resume its consideration. Abramovich was told in the department that he was not authorized to solve these issues and advised to apply for a new residence permit. This billionaire, according to newspapers, has not yet done so.
As Le Matin Dimanche writes, it is obvious that the businessman was trying to obtain a residence permit in accordance with a rule that allows him to give it to very wealthy foreigners who represent "major public interest". On this basis, the newspaper writes, over the past ten years, 578 people received a residence permit, including Mikhail Khodorkovsky.