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29th March 2023
02:10pm BST
Leaked documents have revealed that former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich bankrolled a Dutch top-flight division side while in control of the west London side.
The Guardian exclusively revealed that the recent Oligarch files found by Cyprus-based offshore service provider MeritServus that Abramovich secretly funded £102.8m to fund the takeover of Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem.
Two previous investigations in The Netherlands concluded that there weren't any financial connections between the Russian and the club, with Abramovich and the Vitesse owners denying the allegations at the time.
Throughout Abramovich's time at Chelsea, the Blues used Vitesse as a club to send many of their younger talents on loan. Among those who played for the Dutch side include Mason Mount, Lucas Piazon and Nemanja Matić.
UEFA rules state that clubs who play against each other are independently owned and run to "ensure the integrity of competitions" and that "no individual or legal entity may have control or influence over more than one club participating in a Uefa club competition."
The documents found show that Abramovich funded Vitesse with multiple loans worth at least €117m (£102.8m) by the end of 2015, a huge investment for Vitesse.
Merab Jordania - the former owner of Vitesse told The Guardian that Alexander Chigirinsky - his replacement - and Abramovich were both good friends of his and the pair had both helped to lend him money when he needed it for the Dutch side.
"This is true, yes," he said.
"It was my personal project and they supported me very much when I bought the club with my resources, and then when I started the project sometimes money wasn’t enough and I was using also money of my friends, and first of all Roman Abramovich, Chigirinsky."
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