Late last year it came to light that two of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s children have Lithuanian citizenship, which could allow him to use their status to transfer assets and evade international sanctions. The Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior immediately initiated a legislative amendment that would make it possible to revoke such people’s citizenship for national security reasons, even if they acquired it through a blood relationship under the principle of jus sanguinis. In prioritizing its national security, Lithuania has demonstrated its determination to maintain strict controls.
Abramovich’s paternal grandparents were Belarusian Jews who moved to Lithuania, but were forcibly transferred to Siberia in 1940, during World War II. Under Lithuanian law, direct descendants of people who held Lithuanian citizenship before 1940 can apply to be naturalized as Lithuanian citizens, which is how Abramovich’s children obtained Lithuanian passports prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Abramovich’s wealth exceeds that of some countries. In 2003 he bought the Chelsea soccer club — one of the top teams in the English Premier League.
After Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, Abramovich was placed on the US’ “Kremlin list” of sanctioned individuals. When his British visa expired in 2018, UK authorities delayed renewing it, preventing him from witnessing his team’s victory over Manchester United in that year’s FA Cup final.
As well as his original Russian nationality, Abramovich also holds an Israeli passport. In May 2018, he became an Israeli citizen due to his Jewish heritage under the Israeli Law of Return, and his Israeli passport allowed him visa-free access to the UK. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he felt compelled to sell his soccer club, and the EU froze his assets and banned him from traveling in or through its member states.
That Abramovich’s children hold Lithuanian passports amounts to a loophole in the economic sanctions against him. Lithuania insists that possession of its citizenship must not be used as a cover to avoid sanctions, so it plans to close this loophole through the amendment. It is also expanding its investigation to find out whether any of Abramovich’s other children, or indeed other sanctioned Russian oligarchs or their relatives, hold Lithuanian passports. The Lithuanian government sees this as an important part of its strategy of supporting Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s invasion.
Meanwhile, since Lithuania deported about 2,000 Russian and Belarusian citizens in August last year, it has required all 18,000 Belarusians living within its borders to fill out a questionnaire, as new arrivals are required to do, to find out their attitudes toward the war in Ukraine. Anyone who refuses to answer the questionnaire or whose answers contradict Lithuania’s official position are regarded as a threat to the nation’s security and face the possibility of having their residence permit revoked.
By staunchly defending its national security and interests and strictly controlling its system of naturalization and residence, Lithuania has set a good example for other countries.
Chen Yung-chang is a company manager.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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