The Russian billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club is trying to off-load some of his glitzy London real estate ahead of tough economic sanctions, an MP says

• Roman Abramovich is trying to sell some of his London real estate, a British MP said.
• The billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club could soon face tough economic sanctions.

The Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is trying to sell some of his London assets ahead of possible sanctions from the US, UK, and European Union, an MP said.

Chris Bryant, a member of the British Parliament, said on Tuesday that Abramovich was "terrified of being sanctioned" and planned to sell his London home, as well as an additional apartment in the city, The Guardian reported. Abramovich, who's worth an estimated $13.5 billion, is the largest shareholder of the Russian steelmaker Evraz and the owner of Chelsea Football Club.

Abramovich's London property is located in Kensington Palace Gardens — nicknamed "billionaires' row." It's the most expensive address in the country and home to foreign embassies, including Russia's. Abramovich's 15-bedroom mansion was purchased for 90 million pounds in 2009, The Guardian reported.

The Guardian also reported, citing a workman at Abramovich's property, that decorators were "repainting all of the walls on the downstairs," a possible sign that it was being prepped for a sale.

The apartment Abramovich is said to also be selling is a penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront on the River Thames, Bloomberg's Benjamin Stupples and Kitty Donaldson reported.

The London real estate isn't the only asset Abramovich is considering off-loading. The Swiss newspaper Blick reported that Abramovich was looking to sell Chelsea Football Club and had already approached four buyers, including the Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss. Wyss told the newspaper that the initial asking price for the club, valued at about $2.1 billion, was too high.

Amid growing backlash to his ownership of the club, Abramovich announced on Saturday that he would hand off stewardship of the team to the club's charitable foundation while staying on as owner.

Abramovich's name hasn't appeared among lists of high-profile Russians facing economic sanctions, but he's said to be an ally of President Vladimir Putin and is one of the nation's richest people. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson mistakenly said last week that he had already been sanctioned. Johnson has since declined to say whether Abramovich may be targeted in the future.

Last week, the US sanctioned members of Putin's inner circle and pledged to hunt down and freeze their assets, including their yachts and mansions.

Abramovich's spokesperson said on Monday that Abramovich was contacted by Ukraine to help achieve "a peaceful resolution," and that he'd been trying to help ever since. Aircraft owned by Abramovich has recently been on the move between Monte Carlo and Russia, as well as in the Caribbean.