UK freezes $13 billion in assets linked to Abramovich associates

• Two Russian oligarchs have had their assets in the United Kingdom frozen, worth up to 10 billion pounds or $13 billion.
• Roman Abramovich has close associates Eugene Tenenbaum and David Davidovich.
• The largest asset freeze in British history was announced on Thursday, according to a government spokesperson.
• The next day, after authorities in Jersey seized assets worth over $7 billion suspected to be linked to Abramovich, the move was made.

The UK froze assets of two Russian oligarchs worth up to £10 billion on Thursday.

The largest asset freeze action in British history has been taken against Eugene Tenenbaum and David Davidovich, two associates of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

On Thursday, assets worth more than $7 billion, suspected of being linked to Abramovich, were frozen in Jersey, one day after the asset freeze.

The combined value of the assets frozen reached $20 billion, and only Davidovich was prohibited from traveling to Britain, not Tenenbaum.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II serves as the head of state of Jersey, a self-governing Channel Island.

Officials from Britain stated that the court decision in Jersey against Abramovich and the actions taken by the U.K. against Tanenbaum and Davidovich were synchronized.

The Russian government is taking steps to limit its financial resources in order to prevent President Putin from using them to fund his failed invasion of Ukraine.

Liz Truss, the British Foreign Secretary, announced on Thursday that the UK is tightening the screws on Putin's war machine and targeting those closest to the Kremlin. She stated that the UK will continue to impose sanctions until Putin fails in Ukraine, and nothing and no one are exempt from the measures.

London has long been a popular destination for Russia's post-Soviet billionaire class, with several landmark properties in the city's most fashionable areas serving as second homes for Russian oligarchs.

The brutal war in Ukraine and the international response to it are endangering the financial security that once made British pounds and property wealth attractive to Russia's wealthiest and most well-connected oligarchs.

The sale of London soccer club Chelsea is imminent due to British sanctions imposed on Abramovich in March. Four bidders are reportedly in the running to own one of Europe's most successful soccer teams in a multibillion-dollar deal.

Unlike Chelsea, the holding companies controlled by Davidovich and Tenenbaum (below, left) represent the other side of Abramovich's empire, one that largely remains hidden.

The war on Ukraine has brought to light the complex web of shell companies used by Russian oligarchs to conceal the origins and destinations of their wealth.

In the past week, small tax havens such as Jersey and the Cayman Islands have declared the freezing of billions of dollars in assets held in their banks by Russian oligarchs subject to sanctions.

The island of Jersey has been known for its secrecy and has served as an offshore corporate tax haven for many years. Some of the world's wealthiest individuals have been hiding their assets on the island through intricate networks of shell companies.

According to British authorities, both Tenenbaum and Davidovich are associated with a Jersey-based company, Evrington Investments Limited, which has ties to Abramovich.

On the same day that Russia invaded Ukraine, Abramovich transferred control of Evrington Investments to Tenenbaum, according to corporate records.

Davidovich took control of the company less than a month after Tenenbaum transferred it.

On the day of the invasion, Abramovich's assets were taken over by Tenenbaum.

According to corporate records, on Feb. 24, Abramovich transferred control of Norma Investments to Davidovich. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that in the past, Abramovich has used Norma Investments to fund energy start-ups around the world.

And it wasn’t just companies.

On February 24th, Davidovich received one of Abramovich's largest yachts, the Aquamarine, according to an investigation by The Guardian. The 150-foot superyacht is owned by a company called MHC Jersey Ltd., which is registered on Jersey.

Davidovich confirmed to the Guardian that he owned both MHC and the yacht.