Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s private jet has landed at Ben Gurion airport, after taking off earlier from Moscow.
It is not clear if the billionaire himself was on board.
Even though Abramovich has Israeli citizenship, his presence in Israel at the current time could place the Israeli government at odds with the US and EU. Abramovich, who also has Portuguese as well as Russian citizenship, is the focus of international sanctions, because of his close ties with the Kremlin and huge wealth created from companies formerly owned by the Russian government.
Abramovich has real estate assets and investments in Israel and is a major donor to Israeli health, education and other institutions, including Yad Vashem, which has reportedly suspended collaborations with him.
Because of the sanctions imposed on him, Abramovich is unable to enter the UK, where he has spent much of his time over the past 20 years.
Abramovich’s private jet was until a few days ago in Turkey, from where it flew to Moscow on Friday, and now has landed in Israel. Abramovich’s private jet is a Gulfstream registered in Luxembourg, under the call name of LX-RAY.
In its sanctions on Abramovich, the UK government said that he has had close relations to Russian President Vladimir Putin for decades. The UK government said that Evraz, the company that Abramovich owns, has been providing huge revenue to the Russian government, which is being used for the war against Ukraine.
Abramovich had estimated wealth of over $15 billion before sanctions were imposed on him. He had been trying to sell Chelsea FC, the English Premier League club that he owns, which he had placed in trust, before the sanctions were imposed on him.