Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich has been denied Swiss residency after police warned he could be "a threat to Switzerland's security," local media reported Tuesday.
Switzerland's federal police advised authorities to deny his application citing suspicions that he might be involved in money laundering or have contacts with criminal organizations.
Abramovich, 51, best known as the owner of Chelsea Football Club, has vehemently denied the allegations, describing them as "entirely false."
The allegations were made public for the first time on Tuesday after Swiss media group Tamedia successfully challenged an injunction Abramovich had obtained against their publication.
According to the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper, the Swiss federal police suspect Abramovich was involved in money laundering in Geneva in the 1990s and that some of his estimated €10 billion ($12 billion) fortune may have been illegally obtained.
Abramovich has never been indicted in Switzerland or elsewhere.
Tamedia reported Tuesday that the police view Abramovich's potential presence in the country as "a danger to public security and to Switzerland's reputation."
Abramovich's lawyer, Daniel Glasl, said he was "extremely disappointed" by the publication of "confidential information from Swiss government files."
"Despite multiple requests, FedPol has failed to provide any evidence supporting these defamatory allegations," he said.
Earlier this year, Abramovich obtained Israeli citizenship.
Israel grants all Jews who move to the state citizenship under its law of return.
Israeli passport holders can travel to the U.K. without a visa, but Russians cannot.
