Roman Abramovich's first wife 'fears for £200m fortune and is scared to leave London mansion'

Roman Abramovich's first wife and mother of his five oldest children is allegedly "living in fear" and is scared to leave her London mansion in case she is struck by the same sanctions imposed on her former husband.

Irina, 55, believes her lavish millionaire lifestyle could come crashing down any minute, her former security guard said in an interview with The Sun. The unnamed man, once a soldier, spent years in the service of the former oligarch's wife as she lived a jet-setting and luxurious lifestyle.

Irina, who owns properties in Britain and worldwide, is thought to be worth around £200m, mostly from her divorce settlement in 2007. She is now said to fear having her assets frozen, just like her former husband. The government has sanctioned the oligarch for his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin who is currently waging a bloody war in Ukraine.

 Mirrorpix Roman and Irina Abramovich, pictured at Stamford Bridge, were married for 16 years

The former bodyguard told The Sun: “There’s wealth and riches — and then there’s Roman Abramovich-inspired money. It sparked opulence off the scale. She was always Harrods’ No1 customer. She got designer clothes by the ton. She’s the Imelda Marcos of London.”

He also remembers Irina being a flamboyant and socially active with her money, always out and about in London: "Irina is usually out on the town every night. Now she doesn’t know where to turn. She fears her UK days are over for good."

Irina and Roman first met in 1990 on an Aeroflot plane that she was working as a flight attendant on, the pair hitting it off and marrying a year later. The two would often be seen in the stands at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea FC, who Abramovich has owned since 2003.

Kommersant/Getty Images Irina is thought to have received over £155m in her divorce settlement with billionaire Roman Abramovich

During their much publicised divorce press speculated that Irina might receive billions of pounds in the settlement. But in the end she received £155m including properties in Britain and luxury planes and yachts.

As part of the settlement Roman also agreed to buy another home for her, thought to be worth £44m, and to pay for the expenses of all five of their children, Anna, 30, Arkadiy, 28 Sofia, 27, Arina, 21, and Ilya, 19.

Roman, 55, left Irina in 2006 having found love with Dasha Zhukova, 41, the daughter of another Russian billionaire oligarch Alexander Zhukov, the couple had another two children Alexander, 12, and Leah Lou, 8, before separating and divorcing in 2018. 

Reference: My London: Dan Wiggins