A judge has lifted the privacy order on a series of cases brought by former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich against the Jersey government - meaning the details of the two-year battle will be made public for the first time.
The Russian billionaire had originally requested the gagging order on the cases but removed his opposition after he alleged conspiracy by the island’s authorities over a criminal investigation brought against him in 2022.
Abramovich had already succeeded in his legal attempt to force ministers and other senior figures in Jersey to produce private messages, emails and other data related to him which will now be made public.
However, it has now been revealed in the court documents that the Jersey government data linked to the original investigation in 2022 has been wrongly deleted.
In his judgement last week, advocate David Michael Cadin, master of the Royal Court, ordered the government of Jersey to pay Abramovich’s costs, describing its behaviour as “extreme”.
Noting that officials had failed to provide data requested by the Russian billionaire more than two years ago, he went on: “The GOJ defendants’ conduct was out of the ordinary for any litigant let alone an ‘office holder’, and unreasonable.”
He said: “No proper explanation has been offered by the GOJ defendants for their failings.”
In April 2022, the Royal Court of Jersey imposed a formal freezing order on $7 billion worth of assets in trusts which Jersey said were linked to Abramovich and the Attorney General of Jersey said Abramovich was a suspect in a criminal investigation.
Police later apologised for what they admitted was an illegal search of his property on the island, which came after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine and the West slapped the most severe sanctions in history on Russian officials and Russian businessmen.
Under Putin, the 59-year-old served as governor of the remote Arctic region of Chukotka in Russia's Far East.
He claims that he was actively courted by Jersey, along with other wealthy individuals from Russia, to locate to the island in 2016 and that his sources of money were given a clean bill of health.
But following the invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea football club after he was disqualified as an owner in March 2022.
A criminal case in Jersey over the sources of his wealth was then launched against him in November of the same year and remains open, although no charges have been brought.
Abramovich has previously failed in an attempt to have the case closed in one of the legal challenges which has now been made public because his claim “did not meet the high bar required” for the court to intervene.
But his success in having data and messages released could prove embarrassing because it covers personal accounts of ministers in Jersey and high ranking officials, as well as meetings with UK ministers and Foreign Office civil servants, over concerns about Jersey’s links to Russian wealth.
A spokesperson for Mr Abramovich said there was “no basis” for claims that his wealth was unexplained.
They said: “We are grateful that Jersey courts have taken these matters seriously, as demonstrated by the fact that Mr Abramovich was allowed earlier this year to introduce claims of conspiracy against the government of Jersey.
“It should be noted that no charges have been brought against Mr Abramovich in the 3.5 years since the investigation was commenced, and, to our knowledge, in fact no progress has been made on this case. This is not surprising, as this case is entirely baseless – and Mr Abramovich will continue to challenge these claims as well as ensure that the obvious violations of rights are recognized for what they are: an unlawful overreach that must be corrected.”
It is understood he is also planning a challenge in the European Court of Human Rights.
The Jersey government said claims against Mr Abramovich came because he admitted during high-profile public English High Court proceedings between him and Boris Berezovsky, which ended in 2012, that he had purportedly engaged in corrupt activity in Russia in the 1990s and early 2000s.
A spokesperson for the government of Jersey said: “The Government of Jersey is aware of recent media reports concerning ongoing legal proceedings involving Mr Roman Abramovich. We respect the independence of the courts and the integrity of the legal process, and we will continue to defend our position vigorously.
“We categorically reject allegations of conspiracy, misfeasance in public office, or bad faith. These claims are entirely without foundation and will be addressed through the appropriate legal channels.
“The Government of Jersey has consistently supported the principle of open justice and opposed Mr Abramovich’s application to the Privy Council for the case to be heard in private. However, as proceedings remain active, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
