Lisbon [Portugal], January 14 (ANI/Sputnik): The Portuguese Institute of Registries and Notary is investigating the naturalization process of Russian Businessman Roman Abramovich, who became a Portuguese citizen under the law on Sephardic Jews, national media reported on Friday.

Last December, the Portuguese Ministry of Justice confirmed that Abramovich had obtained citizenship under the Law of Return, which allows descendants of Sephardic Jews originating from Spain and Portugal, and Jews forcibly converted to Christianity, to obtain Portuguese citizenship. Abramovich provided a certificate from the Porto Jewish community as proof of his Sephardic descent.

The process of granting citizenship to Abramovich was completed in an unprecedentedly short time. According to the Portuguese news agency Renascenca, the justice ministry confirmed that Abramovich's case was being investigated at the initiative of the Institute of Registries and Notary.

According to the report, the justice ministry said that the investigation is a standard procedure that applies whenever there are signs of any violations in the registration procedures. Regarding the citizenship acquisition by descendants of Sephardic Jews, the requirement of belonging to the Sephardic community must be confirmed by a Jewish community with the status of a religious legal entity.

In 2018, Abramovich, who had been living in the United Kingdom for several years, had difficulty renewing his British residency permit, and moved to Israel, obtaining an Israeli passport under the national law of return. (ANI/Sputnik)