US hedge funds have reportedly been told to freeze the assets of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich after British authorities imposed sanctions on him.
“Currently accounts attributed to Roman Abramovich are blocked from transacting, as such any distributions, redemptions or payment cannot be made and no subscriptions or contributions can be accepted,” hedge-fund administrator SS&C Globe Op told one firm, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Sources told the media that similar messages had been sent to other hedge funds. Empyrean Capital Partners, Millstreet Capital Management, Millennium Management, and Sculptor Capital Management are reportedly among the funds in which Abramovich has invested.
The billionaire made an attempt to sell the funds in February, but this was blocked as a result of moves to freeze his transactions, according to sources allegedly close to the situation quoted by the newspaper.
On Thursday, the British government imposed a travel ban on the owner of Chelsea Football Club and froze his assets, along with those of six other Russians, due to their alleged links to President Vladimir Putin.
The sanctions blocked Abramovich’s attempts to quickly sell the football club, which is valued at around $3 billion. The penalties imposed on the tycoon, who is worth more than $11 billion and has stakes in steel giant Evraz and Norilsk Nickel, disrupted the daily operations of Chelsea by blocking the sale of new tickets for matches and club merchandise, among other restrictions.
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