Roman Abramovic at a VIP lounge where his private jet was recorded departing to Istanbul
(Picture: Reuters)Sanctioned Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was spotted in a VIP lounge airport before his private jet took off for Turkey with as many as 20 interested buyers circling to buy his football club.
The Russian oligarch was photographed on Monday at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion shortly before a jet linked to him took off for Istanbul, where his yacht was spotted sailing, data showed.
A photograph obtained by Reuters showed Abramovich sitting in the airport’s VIP lounge with a face mask pulled down over his chin. Reuters could not verify whether he boarded the flight.
Abramovich, who also holds Israeli and Portuguese citizenship, was among seven Russian billionaires added to the British sanctions list on Thursday as part of efforts to isolate President Vladimir Putin over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to data from Marine Traffic website, Abramovich’s yacht, called My Solaris, was headed for Istanbul. His jet had earlier landed in Istanbul.
He was spotted as the next owner of Chelsea could become clearer this week, with potential buyers informed a sale could go through rapidly.
US merchant bank Raine Group has extended the deadline for official bids to Friday, with a host of interested parties already coming forward.
Despite Roman Abramovich being sanctioned by the UK Government and having his assets frozen, the planned sale of the European champions is still going ahead.
At present, Chelsea still do not have permission to sell up as part of the special licence they have been granted to continue football operations.
But it is understood the Government are open to allowing a sale to go through, so long as no funds go to Abramovich.
