Billionaire collector gives in to ex
Leaked documents in Cyprus showed that shortly before Russia began the NWO in Ukraine, and Roman Abramovich fell under sanctions, the billionaire handed over a huge collection of works of art to his ex-wife. According to experts, this is one of the most impressive private art collections in the world.
As revealed by the recent leak of corporate documents from Cyprus, this astonishing collection was compiled over several years by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and his ex-wife Daria Zhukova.
Daria Zhukova and Roman AbramovichAnd despite the sanctions imposed on Russian oligarchs following the SVO in Ukraine, the former couple is still able to enjoy these priceless works.
About some of these works it was knownthat they were bought by Abramovich. For example, his acquisition in 2008 of Francis Bacon’s “Triptych”—the most expensive object in the collection, costing $86.3 million— covered in the press. However, the fate of many paintings from this collection remained a mystery for many years. Thus, about the painting “Suprematist Composition” (1919–1920) by Kazimir Malevich, all that was known was that in 2000 the artist’s heirs put it up for auction, where it was sold for $17 million. The buyer’s name was not disclosed. From the MeritServus files it follows that already in 2013 the painting belonged to Abramovich.
Paintings from this collection have rarely been shown at exhibitions before, and now, most likely, they will be lost to the public for a long time. “It’s unfortunate that the trust that manages the paintings seems to no longer be able to provide them to museums,” says Georgina Adam, an art market expert. — Sanctions were introduced for obvious reasons. It turns out that Abramovich’s investment in art has led to the fact that people are now deprived of the opportunity to see some of the greatest works of our time.” For example, when the first Lucian Freud exhibition in 10 years opened at the British National Gallery in October 2022, several of his iconic paintings owned by the Abramovich-Zhukova trust were missing.
In February 2022, just days after British authorities warned oligarchs close to the Kremlin that the SVO could lead to sanctions, the Cyprus trust that held the collection was restructured, reducing Abramovich’s stake to less than 50 percent.
The Guardian, OCCRP and other media partners learned the details from a leak of data from a Cypriot corporate services provider published by hacktivist group Dtributed Denial of Secrets.
It has long been known that Abramovich and Zhukova love art. Over nine years of marriage, the couple has earned a reputation as true connoisseurs. They became co-founders of a large museum of modern art in Moscow. In addition, Zhukova is on the board of trustees of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2008, Abramovich paid $33.6 million for Lucian Freud’s The Social Warden Sleeps, considered one of the finest works of modern art. This was a record price for a work by a living artist.
But the private collection, details of which were leaked, turned out to be colossal. Works include Picasso’s Picador and Monet’s The Coast at Trouville, as well as sculptures by Henry Moore, Antony Gormley and Alberto Giacometti.
The Ukrainian government has compiled a database of works of art owned by Russian oligarchs to make it easier to confiscate them. But it included only three pieces of art related to Abramovich. And the recently discovered collection is much more extensive.
Art critic and consultant Claudio Metzger agrees.
OCCRP and The Guardian previously reported that Cypriot corporate services provider MeritServus HC Limited appears to have continued to serve Abramovich even after the war began. The company later came under UK sanctions.
Abramovich and MeritServus did not respond to questions sent by email. Zhukova declined to comment.
One percent difference
The works of art mentioned in the leak officially belong to Seline-Invest, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. In June 2017 it was moved to the Island of Jersey. The ultimate owner of the company was the Cyprus Erm Trust Settlement.
Seline-Invest acquired the works from Abramovich’s companies around 2017 and 2018 – around the same time he and Zhukova divorced. Transaction documents list the value of the collection as $963 million.
In January 2021, Zhukova became an “additional” beneficiary of the Erm Trust Settlement, which was originally, in 2010, created only for Abramovich. The divorced couple divided their assets in half.
But in February 2022, shortly before the Russian invasion, the trust was restructured. Zhukova’s share increased to 51 percent, while Abramovich’s share decreased to 49 percent.
The restructuring was most likely aimed at shielding works of art from sanctions. As a rule, sanctions restrictions apply only to assets that are 50 percent or more owned by persons on the blacklist.
In March 2022, the UK and EU did impose sanctions on Abramovich for his alleged ties to Putin.
A number of his major assets were frozen and he was forced to sell the Chelsea football team, but his works of art remained untouched.
Zhukova, a US citizen, was not subject to sanctions and spoke out against Russia’s military control system in Ukraine. It is unknown whether she was aware of or participated in the change in the beneficiaries’ shares in Erm, since trust managers have the right to make such changes without her knowledge.
Keating believes that the oligarchs around Putin most likely had a “strategy to combat increased [санкционным] pressure” even before they were blacklisted.
Society has lost its masterpieces
A data leak showed how Abramovich and Zhukova assembled the collection. At the end of 2010, Abramovich hired Sandford Heller, who advises the world’s richest collectors, signing a contract with him for $500,000 a year.
Over the next six years, Heller helped Abramovich and Zhukova assemble the collection. (Heller did not respond to requests for comment.)
It is unknown where the works of art are now. According to the documents, some of them were stored in warehouses in London for many years. Unlike some well-known art investors, Abramovich and Zhukova did not put the entire collection on public display. Some works were sent to exhibitions from time to time, but usually anonymously, and the signs indicated “private collection.”
IN Zhukova’s profile 2021, an art website says her home is full of art: “She lives in the company of everything from a figurative painting by Marc Tansey to an abstract creation by Piet Mondrian.”
After the imposition of sanctions against Abramovich, works from the collection were no longer shown, probably due to complications caused by the restrictions.
Leaks revealed that even before sanctions were imposed, Abramovich had taken some of the art to his European mansions or on a $1.3 billion yacht. Under loan agreements between Seline and companies linked to Abramovich’s real estate, the items were removed from storage for private display.
