Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich facing questions over third-party player ownership after FinCEN Files leak
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is facing questions over his involvement in a third-party ownership scheme, following an investigation by the BBC’s Panorama programme.
The probe, part of the FinCEN Files leak, links the Russian billionaire, who bought Chelsea in 2003, to a company called Leiston Holdings, which held stakes in the future sales of players until third-party ownership was banned by FIFA in 2015.
The report claims one of the players Abramovich held an economic interest in was Sporting Lisbon’s Andre Carrillo, who played against Chelsea in the Champions League in 2014.
A spokesperson for Abramovich denied any wrongdoing, saying: “The fact that transactions may have been confidential does not mean that they were unlawful or otherwise in breach of then-applicable rules or regulations.
"[The transactions] relate to the period before FIFA changed their rules.
"The fact that we are not aware of this issue confirms that there has been no wrongdoing, as no action was taken.”
The practice was outlawed under Premier League guidelines in 2008, following West Ham’s loan deals for Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.
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