Switzerland refused Roman Abramovich in the form of residence permit

The police of the Alpine country considered that the Russian businessman is a threat to Switzerland's public security, the Swiss media found. Abramovich sought to prohibit the publication of this information in court.
26.09.2018
RBC
Origin source
Swiss federal police believe that Russian businessman Roman Abramovich may pose a threat to public safety and cause reputational damage to the country if he receives a residence permit. This was learned by the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.

The article came out after a businessman lost a lawsuit against the Swiss media group Tamedia, which owns several daily and weekly newspapers and magazines, including Tages-Anzeiger, writes The Guardian. Abramovich demanded that the publication of this information be prohibited. The trial has been going on since February.

The migration service of the country turned to the Swiss police, who intended to find out the position of the law enforcement agencies on granting a residence permit to Abramovich. The police, according to the newspaper, replied that with regard to Abramovich there are "suspicions of money laundering and possible contacts with criminal structures", and his assets in the country are "at least partially illegal origin."

The Guardian notes that the suspicions referred to in the police response are not supported by any court documents, and the Swiss authorities did not file any formal accusations of any violations by the Swiss authorities.

“We are extremely saddened by the publication of confidential information about Mr. Abramovich from the documents of the Swiss authorities, which was clearly made in violation of the Swiss Criminal Code and laws on information protection,” said Daniel Glasl, a businessman’s lawyer in Switzerland (his commentary was provided by the businessman’s press service).

Representatives of the businessman asked the Swiss police to correct the data available to her, and also intend to get a criminal case opened against people who spread information about Abramovich, the lawyer added. “Any assumptions that Abramovich was involved in money laundering or had contacts with criminal gangs are absolutely false,” he stressed.

In April, another publication, part of the Tamedia holding, Le Matin Dimanche, wrote about Abramovich’s unsuccessful attempt to obtain a residence permit in Switzerland. The article said that Abramovich filed an application back in July 2016. The head of the migration service of the canton, Valé Jacques Delavallas, told the publication that Roman Abramovich had interests in Valais. “Given the size of his finances, the municipality is interested in him as a taxpayer, and we issued a positive conclusion,” the publication quoted him. However, a year later, the businessman "unexpectedly" withdrew his application, the article said. However, the newspaper did not write about the reasons for the recall, referring to the prohibition of the court of Zurich, which Abramovich appealed to.

The first trial with the holding Tamedia Abramovich lost in May.

As The Guardian writes, Abramovich showed interest in the ski resort Verbier, located in Valais. This resort has more than 400 km of trails.

In May, it became known that Abramovich received an Israeli passport.

Governance

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