ROMAN Abramovich and his lawyers should be excluded from part of a hearing over the withholding of personal information on national security grounds, the Government of Jersey has argued.
More than £5 billion of assets linked to the former Chelsea owner remain frozen in Jersey, where an investigation began in early 2022.
The Russian national is challenging a certificate used to prevent him from receiving certain personal data – after the Royal Court previously ruled that the Government of Jersey had breached his rights by missing disclosure deadlines.
Advocate Michael O’Connell, representing the Home Affairs Minister, argued yesterday that allowing the Russian billionaire or his lawyers to see the disputed material during proceedings would “defeat the object of the exercise”.
The minister wants the court to consider some evidence and legal arguments behind closed doors, without Mr Abramovich, his representatives or the public present.
However, the proposal would keep as much of the appeal hearing open as possible and give Mr Abramovich a court-approved summary of the closed session, followed by an opportunity to respond.
The dispute stems from requests Mr Abramovich made in April 2023 for personal information held by government bodies under the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.
On 21 November 2025, the Royal Court ruled in his favour, finding that the government defendants had failed to provide his personal data within the required time limits.
Documents were subsequently supplied in three tranches, the last on 29 May 2026. But a National Security Certificate, issued on 21 May, exempted certain personal data from disclosure. Mr Abramovich lodged an appeal against the certificate on 16 June.
At a hearing in June concerning the handling of his information requests, he challenged documents being excessively redacted or wrongly withheld.
The disclosure dispute comes against the backdrop of Jersey’s criminal investigation into the origins of Mr Abramovich’s wealth, with more than £5 billion of assets linked to him remaining frozen in the Island after
In a statement to the JEP earlier this month, his lawyers at Kobre & Kim claimed the investigation was politically motivated, arguing that Jersey had welcomed his investment before it became “politically inconvenient”. Mr Abramovich denies the Attorney General’s allegations about the origins of his wealth.
The government has previously stressed that the Attorney General is constitutionally independent and that ministers have “no authority or influence” over his investigation. It also said it “categorically rejects allegations of conspiracy, misfeasance in public office or bad faith” in the separate civil proceedings.
In his skeleton argument for the current proceedings, Advocate O’Connell said a “fundamental question” in the wider disclosure dispute was whether the government could withhold information to protect third-party privacy, confidential lawyer-client communications, national security, and crime and taxation purposes.
Allowing Mr Abramovich to see the material while that question was being decided would undermine the process, he argued.
“Likewise, if the [Mr Abramovich]’s lawyers participate in the proceedings, they will come to know such matters,” said Advocate O’Connell.
Under the proposed procedure, the appeal would begin in open court, with Mr Abramovich and his lawyers able to present their arguments. A closed session would follow to examine the protected material. The court could order disclosure of anything it considered should have been addressed openly.
Advocate O’Connell said: “It is in the interests of justice for the court to exercise its jurisdiction to give directions for a closed procedure in the present case.”
He added that the adoption of a closed procedure is “entirely consistent” with the approach taken by the courts of England and Wales when dealing with “equivalent issues” under the UK’s Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Commissioner Alan Binnington was presiding. The hearing, which concerns how the appeal should proceed, is expected to continue tomorrow. The appeal itself has yet to be listed.
Mr Abramovich’s lawyers’ arguments will be covered in tomorrow’s JEP.
