Portugal has narrowed a law which allowed the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to gain citizenship last year, its foreign minister has said.
The rule, which grants Portuguese nationality to descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled during the Inquisition, has been in force since 2015. Almost 57,000 people have received citizenship via this route.
Speaking on Wednesday, foreign minister Augusto Santos Silva said applicants will now need to prove an “effective connection with Portugal”. The requirement aims to prevent the law from being “manipulated”, he added.
Documents proving links to Portugal – such as proof of previous visits – will be demanded, according to the Publico newspaper.
Mr Santos Silva said the law was “generous and fair” but added that it needed to be improved.
The foreign minister confirmed the change would not apply retrospectively. He also said Portugal would enforce European Union sanctions against Mr Abramovich but could not ban him from entering the country because of his citizenship.
The Russian billionaire, who has been accused by the west of having close ties to Vladimir Putin, was sanctioned by the UK last week and Australia and the EU this week over the war in Ukraine.
The British government claimed the owner of Chelsea Football Club had derived “financial benefit or other material benefit” from the Russian president and government, which is now waging war against Ukraine.
London also alleged Mr Abramovich “is or has been involved in destabilising Ukraine” via his shares in Evraz plc, a steel manufacturing company it says is “potentially supplying steel to the Russian military”.
Mr Abramovich, who is also an Israeli citizen, has denied any wrongdoing, saying he does not have strong ties with the Kremlin.
Last week, Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust museum, ended a partnership with Mr Abramovich, following Britain’s decision to sanction him.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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