Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's lawyer denies money laundering claim

Roman Abramovich's lawyer has said any suggestion that the Chelsea owner has been involved in money laundering or has contacts with criminal organisations is "entirely false" after it was reported that he was denied residency in Switzerland in 2016 amid allegations of both.

Abramovich applied to live near the ski resort of Verbier, but the country's federal police (Fedpol) advised immigration officials to reject the application on the grounds that he represented a threat to public security and the country's reputation, documents seen by media company Tamedia show.

The Zurich company fought an 18-month legal battle to publish the documents.
Abramovich -- who has never been indicted in Switzerland or anywhere else -- has denied the allegations, and lawyer Daniel Glasl indicated that he would file a criminal complaint.

"We are extremely disappointed by the release and publication of confidential information from Swiss government files regarding Mr Abramovich, which occurred in clear violation of Swiss criminal law and Swiss data protection laws," Glasl said in a statement received by ESPN.

"We have filed a request for correction of facts to the Swiss Federal Police and will be filing a criminal complaint against unknown persons responsible for dissemination of this confidential information.

"Any suggestion that Mr Abramovich has been involved in money-laundering or has contacts with criminal organisations is entirely false."