Children of Russian businessman Roman Abramovich help their father circumvent sanctions using Lithuanian passports

The oligarch passed on a significant share of his wealth to his children, who are citizens of Lithuania.

Lithuanian children's passports help Russian oligarch Abramovich avoid sanctions. reports on this .

Two children of a Russian oligarch used Lithuanian passports to take control of part of their father's fortune. This likely protected Abramovich from the impact of sanctions. According to leaked documents, this happened just a few weeks before the imposition of sanctions restrictions.

Abramovich's seven children received partial or full ownership of trusts totaling approximately US$4 billion. This happened in February 2022, when, against the backdrop of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UK and the US threatened to impose sanctions against Russian oligarchs.

Anna and Arkady, who received Lithuanian citizenship, received just over half of the shares of Grano Trust. This amount allows them to be included in the list of the 500 richest Lithuanians. There is nothing illegal about transferring assets. But a Lithuanian political scientist says the country's residents are uneasy at the suggestion they only needed citizenship to protect Abramovich's money.

The leaked documents show that his son's passport has expired. But it is unknown whether the document was continued in effect.