Russian billionaire and Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich is on trial in Switzerland, in an 18-year-old case in which he is accused of defrauding a publicly-funded European bank of millions of taxpayers’ money, The Associated Press reported.
A court in the city of Fribourg on Wednesday opened proceedings against the 52-year-old businessman and owner of the English football club, Chelsea, amid heightened security.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development external link (EBRD) is suing the Russian energy company Gazprom, co-owned by Abramovich, for payment of a long-standing multi-million loan debt. Gazprom argues a Swiss court has no jurisdiction in the highly complex case.
However, the Swiss Supreme Court has ruled that the lawsuit can be processed in Switzerland. It is not clear how long the trial will last.
The case about the intricate business dealings dates back to the year 2000 and has broad international dimensions. It also involves a Swiss-based company, Runicom.
EBRD provided a loan to the Russian bank SBS Agro in the framework of a program to support small and medium-sized businesses. The guarantor for the loan was the company registered in Switzerland (namely, in the canton of Friborg ) Runicom. The latter was limited to the export of oil to the Russian parent company Sibneft.
When, sometime later, the Russian bank SBS Agro went bankrupt, the EBRD demanded from Runicom to pay the debt but was refused. The leadership of Runicom, including Abramovich and another Russian oligarch – Eugene Shvidler, said that he had fully paid off his loan debt.
