DAILY STAR
Roman Abramovich ‘secretly bankrolled’ a takeover for another football club for years while he was Chelsea owner, it has been claimed.
The Russian oligarch reportedly funded the acquisition of Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem – who have a close relationship with Chelsea and act as a partner club to them. The Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) have undertaken two investigations into the running of Vitesse but did not link it to Abramovich.
However, as reports The Guardian, Abramovich was allegedly the initial source of €117m (£102.8m) in private funding, despite numerous denials he was involved. The claims come after leaked information – dubbed The Oligarch files – obtained from MeritServus – an offshore company based in Cyprus – has emerged alleging the funds trace back to loans taken out by Abramovich which have been funnelled through several companies registered in offshore tax havens.
The takeover of Vitesse in 2010 was subject to initial scrutiny by the KNVB though their investigation concluded Chelsea and Abramovich were not involved. Georgian former footballer Merab Jordania led the takeover backed by Marindale Trading and he admitted having a close relationship with Abramovich but left Vitesse amid controversy in October 2013.
Upon Jordania’s departure, Alexander Chigirinsky – another close friend of Abramovich’s – took over, at which point it has been claimed Chigirinsky – who owns Marindale Trading – had been involved with Vitesse since the initial takeover three years earlier. Marindale has also been the beneficiary of several big loans each worth millions and allegedly originating with Abramovich.
