France occupies the £ 90,000,000 French Riviera castle of Roman Abramovich

French authorities have seized Roman Abramovich’s magnificent Riviera villa as part of a massive attack on Russian assets.

Château de la Croë – deChelsea The luxury retreat of FC owner in Cap d’Antibes – was targeted in a robbery on sanctioned individuals with links to Vladimir Putin.

Set in 12 acres of woodland, this elegant 12-bedroom mansion was once the southern French holiday home of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and is worth £ 90 million in the current market.

The frozen assets were confirmed yesterday by the Ministry of Finance in Paris.

“There are 33 properties frozen, including a dozen from Abramovich,” a ministerial source said.

‘They include houses, superyachts and helicopters, and give well over € 25 billion (£ 20 billion).

“It is all part of the program of sanctions that will be brought against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.”

Abramovich, 55, allegedly spent £ 30 million restoring the villa after he bought it in 2001, adding a rooftop swimming pool and a huge gym and home cinema in the basement.

Other properties seized include its extensive estate on the Caribbean island of Saint-Barthélemy.

A close ally of the Russian president, he is believed to be currently staying in Moscow after being involved in several peace talks with Ukraine.

There was no immediate comment from Abramovich, who also had £ 5.4bn of linked assets frozen by the small Channel Island of Jersey.

Jersey Police are looking for properties that are believed to be linked to Mr Abramovich’s business activities on the island, which follows UK policies and sanctions against the same people.

‘On April 12, the Royal Court also issued a formal freeze order, known as a seizure judiciaire, on assets valued at more than US $ 7 billion suspected of being linked to Mr Abramovich and which located in Jersey or owned. by Jersey-incorporated entities, ‘said the Jersey Law Officers department.

Additional reporting by Peter Allen in France

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