Chelsea owner Abramovich's 'links' to Putin and "corrupt activity" claims

Roman Abramovich 's relationship with Vladimir Putin has faced a fresh wave of scrutiny since the Russian president launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine on Thursday.

Invading forces have closed in on Kyiv, the country's capital, but continue to face fierce resistance from defending forces which could foil Putin's plans.

The war in Eastern Europe has had a far-reaching impact which has extended to sport, with Sweden and Poland cancelling World Cup qualifiers against Russia and Formula One scrapping the 2022 Grand Prix in Sochi.

It has also heightened awareness of Chelsea 's potential links with Russia through the man who has owned the club since 2003, Abramovich.

Once a regular attendee at Stamford Bridge, the 55-year-old is rarely seen in West London these days and did not visit the United Kingdom between 2018 and 2021 due to not having a visa.

In an intriguing update on Saturday evening, Abramovich confirmed he would be relinquishing the "stewardship and care" of Chelsea to the club's charitable foundation.

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This update came after there were calls for him to be banned from owning Chelsea and for his assets to be seized amid the sweeping sanctions being imposed against Russia for Putin's aggression.

Labour MP Chris Bryant led these calls in the House of Commons after obtaining what he described as a "leaked document from 2019 from the Home Office".

Disclosing the content of the papers, Bryant said "Abramovich remains of interest to HMG [Her Majesty's Government] due to his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices".

He added: "An example of this is Abramovich admitting in court proceedings that he paid for political influence."

Abramovich's "influence" at a political level began following the fall of the Soviet Union, after which he amassed an enormous fortune by purchasing assets from the state at a cut price as part of the loans for shares scheme.

He would later serve as governor of the Chukotka region in the very far north-east of Russia.

Late oligarch Boris Berezovsky submitted evidence to the High Court in 2012 in a contract dispute case which claimed Abramovich attended Putin's birthday party in 1999, one year before the latter became president.

Abramovich would later defeat Berezovsky in a civil court case in London

The high court judge in the 2012 case, Mrs Justice Gloster, observed that Abramovich had "very good relations" with Putin and "privileged access to" him

That being said, she also found there was nothing to suggest the former was in a position to "pull the presidential strings".

So, while it is near-impossible to gauge the true level of their association, the relationship between Putin and Abramovich - and therefore Chelsea - adds another dimension to how the deeply regrettable conflict between Russia and Ukraine is impacting the sporting world.