Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly asked President Biden to refrain from sanctioning Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich earlier this month, believing that the billionaire could be a useful conduit for negotiations between Russian and Ukraine. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Treasury Department had already drafted possible sanctions against Abramovich before the White House intervened. Previously, separate reports stated that Abramovich was in Belarus late last month to assist with peace talks. Following Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, the billionaire announced that he would hand over control of the Chelsea Football Club, which he owned, to a charitable trust; he then said he would sell the club entirely.
