Explained: The fall of Vitesse Arnhem, ‘Abramovich’s Chelsea B’

Vitesse Arnhem have been in turmoil.

Investigations into their previous ownerships plunged the Dutch side’s future into uncertainty and, while the club managed to overcome significant hurdles over recent weeks, what happens next still remains unclear.

The Athletic has explored how the Netherlands’ second-oldest club nearly ceased to exist, suffered an 18-point deduction, and were relegated from the Eredivisie for the first time in 35 years.

How did we get here?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, was essentially the starting point for all of this.

The European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion. The aim of these, according to the government of the Netherlands, was to:

• make it difficult for Russia to finance the invasion of Ukraine;
• show the individuals responsible (such as the Russian political elite) that the invasion of Ukraine has economic and political consequences.

Vitesse had been owned by Russian oligarch Valeriy Oyf since 2018. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Oyf, similar to Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, expressed his intention to sell the club. Unlike Abramovich, Oyf was reportedly not on any sanctions list.

In March 2022, Oyf announced that his majority shares in Vitesse were up for sale “in the interests of the club”. He later proposed transferring his shares, held under Performance Management Holding BV (PMH), to Vitesse’s paid football foundation. He also claimed he would waive the club’s debt.

By September 2022, it appeared that Vitesse had found a buyer. The club confirmed that the Common Group, a New York-based investment firm, was set to become the new majority shareholder, pending approval from the licensing committee of the Dutch football association (KNVB). The Netherlands’ professional football licensing system requires any potential shareholder acquiring at least 25 per cent of a club’s shares to be approved.

The Common Group, led by founder and CEO Coley Parry, also has investments in League One club Leyton Orient and Belgian side Patro Eisden Maasmechelen. However, before Vitesse made the request for the transfer of Oyf’s shares to the Common Group in April 2023, allegations emerged surrounding the club’s past finances.

The links with Chelsea: What was alleged?

A report from The Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in March 2023 claimed that Abramovich had financed a previous takeover and subsequent operations of Vitesse for several years. The purported secret funding, totalling at least €117million (£102.8m), was revealed through leaked documents known as the Oligarch files, originating from the Cyprus-based offshore service provider MeritServus.

Suspicions first arose during the tenure of the former Georgian footballer Merab Jordania, who led a takeover of Vitesse in 2010. Although Jordania denied Abramovich’s involvement, the Dutch side were once branded ‘Chelsea B’ after dozens of the Premier League side’s players were sent on loan there between 2010 and 2021, including Mason Mount, Dominic Solanke, Armando Broja and Nemanja Matic.

The funding scheme allegedly involved a complex network of offshore entities with Abramovich’s companies, Ovington Worldwide and Wotton Overseas, playing pivotal roles. These entities purportedly facilitated loans to Vitesse through intermediaries linked to Alexander Chigirinsky, a Russian businessman who took over the club after Jordania’s departure in 2013.

Marindale Trading, a company owned by Chigirinsky, was allegedly involved in funding Vitesse’s takeover, with loans routed through offshore entities. The documents reportedly suggested that Abramovich’s funds originated from Ovington Worldwide and were funnelled through Chigirinsky-linked companies to Vitesse.

Chigirinsky remained in charge of Vitesse until May 2018 when he sold the club to Oyf.

Chigirinsky, MeritServus and Abramovich did not comment in response to the article at the time.

Mason Mount playing for Vitesse in 2017 (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Jordania, meanwhile, claimed he was friends with both Abramovich and Chigirinsky — and after his claim that they had lent him money for Vitesse when needed, suspicions persisted. Allegations he made in April 2014 also appeared to blame Chelsea for preventing Vitesse from achieving certain sporting objectives.

As a result of The Guardian’s report, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZK) requested information from Vitesse in June 2023 as part of their investigation into the club’s continued Russian ownership. The EZK aimed to ensure that Vitesse was complying with EU sanctions against Russia.

The Dutch government is responsible for ensuring that all companies within the country, including football clubs, adhere to these sanctions. It is up to the companies themselves to comply with the rules by carefully examining their financial transactions and business relationships to avoid violations. This involves thoroughly investigating the ownership and control structures of their business partners, including scrutinising the backgrounds of shareholders and banks involved in their transactions.

The KNVB launched two of their own investigations in July 2023 with research agency Integis — one looking into the Common Group and the other assessing the previous links between Vitesse and Abramovich.

GO DEEPER

Vitesse Arnhem – the proud Dutch club shaking off that ‘Chelsea B’ tag

What was the response to the Common Group?

After seven months of research, the Common Group suffered a blow as the KNVB announced the rejection of Vitesse’s request in February 2024, effectively refusing to give permission for them to be taken over by Parry’s firm. The committee cited a lack of evidence regarding the Common Group’s equity, investors, and the origin of their funds. The club was also fined €100,000 (£85,000) for allegedly failing to disclose critical financial information.

Parry said at the time that “both the licensing committee and Integis have rejected our offer to talk to various specialists involved”. The Common Group then held a press conference to confirm that they would appeal against the decision.

Vitesse also claimed that they were under pressure from their house bank, ING. According to the club, they had been issued an ultimatum with ING making it clear that, with the club’s shares still in Oyf’s name, they could no longer do business with companies owned by Russian shareholders. However, a judge ruled that ING must keep Vitesse’s account open while the legal proceedings were ongoing.

In a statement on February 16, the former Vitesse interim general manager Peter Rovers explained the issues: Oyf remaining as the major shareholder caused banking problems with ING and therefore auditing issues with their club accounts, and there remained a financial shortfall despite a better balancing of costs and income.

To resolve the problems with the bank and club accounts, Rovers said an alternative plan had been arranged following talks with stakeholders, Vitesse, and various supporter groups. This involved transferring the club’s shares to the ‘Vitesse Forever’ foundation, which would free them from Russian ownership.

However, this step needed approval from the KNVB licensing committee and could only happen once their investigation into the club’s past ties had been concluded.

Merab Jordania, who sold the club in 2013, arriving at Arnhem in 2010 (Vincent Jannink/AFP/Getty Images)

What happened next?

In April, Vitesse were deducted 18 points by the KNVB licensing committee, leading to the club’s relegation from the Eredivisie. This punishment was because of their “repeated failure” to meet licensing regulations over an extended period.

A statement from the KNVB said: “The level of the sanction is based on the exceptional seriousness and extent of the breaches of the licence system.”

They added that Vitesse had provided incorrect information “relevant to the forensic investigation” into potential sanctions breaches, and also withheld information “important to the assessment of Vitesse’s continuity”.

The KNVB’s licensing committee said that there were “indications” suggesting Abramovich had past or present control over Vitesse, along with “risks” of sanctions violations. They therefore concluded that it was “important to await the ministry’s investigation”.

Vitesse had the option to appeal the verdict but, in a statement, they said that they would not do so because the club wanted to focus on “retaining its licence”. They concluded that the points deduction was “inevitable”, noting that they had incorrectly filed half-yearly financial figures and weren’t able to demonstrate that they did not have ties to Abramovich.

Front row (left to right): Vitesse technical director Benjamin Schmedes, Rovers and Parry (wearing glasses) (ANP via Getty Images)

How close were Vitesse to ceasing to exist?

Times looked desperate for the club at the beginning of May.

On May 3, it was confirmed that Vitesse had launched a crowdfunding campaign in an attempt to raise funds to retain their licence and stay in the professional leagues. Donations came from current and former players, including ex-Swansea City and Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony, former Chelsea players Matt Miazga (the USMNT defender) and Lewis Baker, as well as supporters. Over €1.9million (£1.62m) was raised until the campaign shut on May 18.

Captain Marco van Ginkel, another former Chelsea player, said: “It is really bizarre how Vitesse is living at the moment. Donations come in from every nook and cranny. Of course, we as a group cannot lag behind. That is why we have all decided today to make a salary sacrifice to the club.”

But there was more bad news to endure on May 7. The KNVB confirmed to The Athletic that the licensing committee had rejected the Common Group’s appeal regarding the transferral of Oyf’s majority shares in Vitesse to the firm. This effectively confirmed their takeover could not proceed.

Parry had told The Athletic in April that the fact he had agreed a deal with Oyf was enough for him to be considered suspicious by the licensing committee, although he also believes the licensing committee does not like multi-club investors and the row with him became personal. In response, the KNVB referred The Athletic to their February statement, which indicated that it had not been determined whether the Common Group had any equity, and that it remained unclear who its investors would be.

Given a deadline of May 17 had been imposed by the KNVB, the only option on the table for Vitesse was to transfer the majority shares to the Vitesse Forever foundation, as declared on February 16.

Roman Abramovich at peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in March 2022 (Cem Ozdel/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

A light at the end of the tunnel

Vitesse appeared to be stuck in limbo. Then, on May 16, the KNVB confirmed they had approved Vitesse’s plan to transfer shares temporarily to Vitesse Forever. This decision postponed the potential revocation of Vitesse’s license until May 26, allowing the club more time to seek approval from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK).

Vitesse said in a statement that there was “constructive contact with ING Bank and accountants and the shares of PMH (Oyf) appear to be transferred as soon as possible to the independent Vitesse voor Altijd (forever) foundation”.

On the same day, it was announced that lawyers Barbara van Hussen and Richard le Grand had been appointed to the supervisory board of Vitesse, replacing Andrey Soloviev and Peter van Bussel. This was a key step in demonstrating Vitesse was breaking away from its previous ownership structure, and that they could act independently from its old shareholders.

On May 17, Vitesse confirmed that, following a response from the Investment Assessment Bureau (BTI) of the EZK, the club could transfer Oyf’s shares to the foundation. It was confirmed to The Athletic that the investigation into the club had been completed.

The shares were officially transferred to the foundation on May 18.

Vitesse’s captain Van Ginkel (ANP via Getty Images)

On May 30, Vitesse announced that they received confirmation from the licensing committee that they are making satisfactory progress towards meeting its licensing requirements. They have been granted an extension until June 17 to fully comply with the criteria.

So are they out of trouble?

Not yet.

The next step for Vitesse is finding sources of funding and balancing their books.

Vitesse appointed John Jaakke, Pieter Colijn and Erik Mulder as three independent directors to sit on the new foundation, and their task was to “focus on the temporary management and sale of the shares”.

Vitesse essentially need to present a balanced budget by June 17 — a challenging task given their relegation. General manager Edwin Reijntjes explained in a statement on Friday that expected income will drop from €19m to €11m, mainly because of the loss of television monies from not playing in the Eredivisie.

They have already cut costs by €10m, reducing their overall budget to €17m, but further cuts would harm the club’s ambitions and sustainability. Fixed costs, including housing and staff salaries, limit the ability for further reductions.

To bridge the budget gap, Vitesse are seeking external financing, focusing on regional support. They plan to sell 20 per cent of the shares to local entrepreneurs and supporters, aiming to raise at least €5m. Reijntjes called on businesses to “to make their contribution” after praising fans following their crowdfunding campaign, saying they had “done their job”.

There have also been further allegations about the club’s past ties.

The Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism alleged on May 10 that leaked documents suggested Oyf funded the club with loans from Abramovich.

New documents allegedly suggested that Abramovich was the primary source of nearly $200m used by Oyf to fund Matteson Overseas Ltd, an offshore company. These funds were purportedly invested in ventures tied to Abramovich’s asset management company, Millhouse Capital, and were used to support Vitesse.

Oyf, a long-time associate of Abramovich and a former senior executive at his oil company, Sibneft, has previously denied that Abramovich still has financial ties to Vitesse. Oyf and Abramovich did not return The Guardian’s requests for comment.

Although the EZK’s investigation into Vitesse has concluded, The Athletic has learned that investigative bodies, such as the Dutch tax investigation department (Fiscal Information and Investigation Service), could still examine possible sanctions violations by Vitesse. Both Vitesse and the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service did not respond to requests for comment.

For now, however, the priority for Vitesse is to maintain financial stability.

(Vitesse supporters watching their side earlier this month by Olaf Kraak/ANP via Getty Images)