The chairman of the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center and other prominent Israeli figures have written to US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, urging that billionaire philanthropist Roman Abramovich be kept off a US list of wealthy Russians to be sanctioned over Russia's policy in Ukraine, the Times of Israel reported this week, referencing a report by Channel 12 News.

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According to the report, the letter – sent on Feb. 6, weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine last week – hailed Abramovich's investments in Israeli and Jewish causes. It was signed by Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan, Chief Rabbi David Lau, and Director-General of Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer Professor Yitshak Kreiss.

On Feb. 22, Yad Vashem announced a new long-term strategic partnership with Abramovich, which it called "part of Mr. Abramovich's global charitable work in promoting Holocaust research and education, as well as combating antisemitism."

A Yad Vashem press release said that Abramovich's donations would go toward the Yad Vashem International Institute for Holocaust Research. Yad Vashem plans to build a new building for the institute, as well as two new versions of its iconic Book of Names to be on permanent display at Yad Vashem.

Abramovich said, "Yad Vashem's work in preserving the memory of the victims of the Holocaust is instrumental to ensure that future generations never forget what antisemitism, racism and hate can lead to if we don't speak out."

Abramovich is also the owner of England's Chelsea FC and has spearheaded the club's public stance against antisemitism in sports.

On a visit to Chelsea in November 2021, President Isaac Herzog praised Abramovich for using the Premier League leaders' platform to battle antisemitism, calling the club "a shining example of how sports and teams can be a force of good and for shaping a more tolerant tomorrow."

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The Portuguese authority responsible for nationality matters has opened an internal inquiry into the granting of citizenship to billionaire Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, the government said on Thursday.

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Russian-born businessman Abramovich was granted Portuguese citizenship in April 2021 based on a law offering naturalization to descendants of Sephardic Jews who were expelled from the Iberian peninsula during the medieval Inquisition.

A spokesperson for Abramovich did not immediately reply to a request for comment. There is little known history of Sephardic Jews in Russia, although Abramovich is a common surname of Ashkenazi Jewish origin.

The inquiry by the Institute of Registries and Notary (IRN), which provides nationality and passport services, comes amid criticism from some activists, commentators and politicians who say the law must be reviewed as they believe it is being used by oligarchs to get a foothold in the EU.

"Everything indicates that behind a well-intentioned law a passport mafia has been set up," Joao Batalha, anti-corruption activist and founder of the Portuguese branch of Transparency Internacional, wrote on Twitter.

The justice ministry said the inquiry – first reported by radio station Renascença and later confirmed by Reuters – was a standard process.

"It is a normal procedure adopted whenever there are situations or news that refer to any possible irregularity in the procedure carried out," it said in a statement sent to Reuters.

"The IRN only intends to establish, without any room for doubt, whether...there was any kind of irregularity," it added.

Thousands of Israeli Jews have been granted Portuguese citizenship since the law was passed in 2015. The number of such applications has risen in Portugal since a similar citizenship offer to Sephardic Jews by Spain ended in 2019.

Applicants' genealogies are vetted by experts at one of Portugal's Jewish centers, Lisbon or Porto. The Porto center was responsible for Abramovich's process.

Abramovich, who made his fortune in Russia's oil industry, has donated money to projects honoring the legacy of Portuguese Sephardic Jews in the German city of Hamburg.

In a blog post, Porto's Jewish center said Abramovich's process had the stamp of approval from some of the "most prestigious international Jewish institutions."

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