A rabbi responsible for the certification that allowed Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and others to obtain Portuguese citizenship is not allowed to leave the country and must present himself to authorities when required, the Lusa news agency said on Saturday.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Portugal's Public Prosecution Service said Friday that it detained the leader of Porto's Jewish community, Daniel Litvak, as part of their investigation into possible cases of "influence peddling, active corruption, falsification of documents, money laundering or even tax evasion."
He was granted Portuguese citizenship last year based on a law offering naturalization to descendants of Sephardic Jews who were expelled from the Iberian peninsula during the Mediaeval Inquisition.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government over his links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
He denied having such ties.
Applicants' genealogies are vetted by experts at one of Portugal's Jewish communities in Lisbon or Porto. The Porto community, where Litvak is the rabbi, was responsible for Abramovich's process.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
