Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich will be forced to open up his books to prove his vast UK-held wealth is legitimate if he wants to return to Britain.
The billionaire and close friend of Vladimir Putinhas been caught in a clampdown on oligarchs after his visa ran out, amid rising tensions following the poisoning of Russian former spy Sergei Skripal.
Mr Abramovich – who recently gifted a £25m yacht to Mr Putin – and some 700 other super-rich Russians who still hold visas must show their money has nothing to do with crime, criminals or anyone whose actions are not “conducive to the public good”.
Moscow lashed out on Monday, accusing the British government of stoking anti-Russian hysteria and of acting in an “unfriendly and unprincipled” way.
But after reports emerged that Mr Abramovich’s visa had elapsed, Downing Street insisted that all new applications for rich investors would be subject to stricter rules implemented in 2015.
Theresa May’s spokesman said the government could not comment on individual cases, but added that it is a “logical conclusion” that someone who qualified under the old system may not under the new one.
Downing Street also said that 700 Russians whose “tier 1” investor visas are yet to elapse will be looked at again under a review launched by former home secretary Amber Rudd.
Asked if the Home Office would look at individual cases, Ms May’s spokesman said: “The answer to that is yes.
“We are looking at visas which were issued pre-April 2015, which is when the rules were toughened … in relation to people who are still in that investor visa route. That could be people who made initial and extension applications within the years covered by the review.
