FBI denies report it arrested Russian tycoon Abramovich

English: Roman Abramovich (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation denied a report on Monday that it had detained Roman Abramovich, the Russian metals tycoon who owns London’s Chelsea soccer club.

“We didn’t arrest him. It’s just not true,” an FBI spokeswoman said in response to an unsourced report by Russia’s RBK financial news portal that Abramovich had been held in the United States.

The RBK report followed media speculation over the unexplained death in Britain of exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who launched and lost a multi-billion-dollar court case last year against Abramovich, his former business partner.