The billionaire recently withdrew his application to renew his British visa after a delay prevented him from travelling to the UK.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was denied Swiss residency because police warned that he could be a threat to Switzerland, reports have said.

This comes after this publication reported that Russians in the UK are to face more scrutiny, and authorities will use new powers to hunt down tax miscreants, especially after the UK accused the Russian state of using deadly nerve agents to try and kill supposed enemies in March.

Earlier this year, the Chelsea Football Club owner withdrew his application to renew his British visa after a delay prevented him from travelling to the UK in May. He has since taken Israeli citizenship. Israel grants all Jewish people who move to the state citizenship under its law of return, and Israeli passport holders can travel to the UK for a visit without a visa, but Russians cannot. 

The BBC report said that Switzerland's federal police advised officials to reject Abramovich's application over suspicions that he might be involved in money laundering or have contact with criminal organisations. Abramovich denies any wrongdoing, and has never been indicted in Switzerland or elsewhere.

The allegations are based on police suspicions which emerged after the Zurich-based publisher Tamedia obtained a letter written by police. Abramovich fought a legal battle to try to prevent the story being published, but the Tamedia group won that battle after several months. Now its news outlets have reported that the Federal Office of Police viewed Abramovich's potential presence in the country as a danger to public security and to Switzerland's reputation.

In August, this publication reported that Credit Suisse would remain committed to the Russian market in spite of reports stating that it has frozen around $5 billion linked Russia to avoid falling foul of US sanctions.