Two Russian oligarchs want to become Portugese citizens

Both businessmen have certificates from the Israelite Community of Porto (CIP) and now they are waiting to obtain Portuguese citizenship, according to the law on Sephardic origin Jews.

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"The 51-year-old Smuzikov became rich primarily due to the sale of TNK-BP, one of the ten largest private oil companies in the world. Later it was bought by the state company Rosneft for EUR 813 million ($885 million)," the outlet wrote.

The oligarch is one of the largest collectors of Russian art, with an estimated fortune of EUR 547 million ($595 million). He is also mentioned in the Pandora Papers of persons who have secret offshore accounts and other valuable items.

Read also: The Ukrainian business holdings of Russia’s oligarchs

The second oligarch – Alexander Kaplan – was Vice President of Refining and Trading at TNK-BP. He made his fortune in the oil business as well.

He is on the list of persons sanctioned by Ukraine over Russia’s full-scale invasion. He was accused of supporting Putin's actions, as well as giving financial aid to the dictator’s regime.

He is one of the main shareholders of Stavropol Promstroibank.

Smuzikov and Kaplan are founders and partners of the Sanora-Rus company, which supposedly provides accounting services.

According to the Sephardic law, Portuguese citizenship may be granted to descendants of the Sephardic Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in the late 11th century. The law expired at the end of 2022.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine