Portugal tightens naturalisation law used by Abramovich

Portugal has toughened rules that allowed Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich to obtain Portuguese citizenship by claiming to be descended from Jews expelled in the 15th century, the foreign minister said Wednesday.

Descendants of Sephardic Jews who were forced out of the country must now show an “actual link with Portugal” before they can claim the nationality, Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva told members of the international press in Lisbon.

A decree from the Portuguese president last week amended the application of the law, which has been in force since 2015.

The changes were intended to stop the “generous and just law” from being “diverted” for other ends, the minister said.

Portuguese authorities in January launched an investigation into the decision to grant Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich citizenship.

As part of the probe, prosecutors detained the leader of Porto’s Jewish community, Daniel Litvak, who is suspected of providing fake certificates of Sephardic ancestry.

An internal enquiry was also launched at the Institute of Registries and Notary, which granted Abramovich’s nationality in April last year.

The European Union has sanctioned Abramovich over his alleged ties to President Vladimir Putin as part of a new round of punitive sanctions against Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

Until the investigation into Abramovich’s naturalisation was concluded, Portugal would not be able to stop the billionaire from entering the country with his passport, Santos Silva said.

“I doubt he would want to come to Portugal because of the sanctions,” the foreign minister said.

But “Portugal cannot refuse entry to any Portuguese citizen,” he said, despite Abramovich being banned from entering the European Union.