Loan: A company majority owned by Roman Abramovich, pictured with his wife Dasha Zhukova, has borrowed £45m in a low interest Government loan to upgrade a steel mill in Canada

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has been given a low interest £45million taxpayer-funded loan to spend in Canada, it was revealed today.

The Chelsea owner, 48, believed to be worth £5.2billion, has convinced a Treasury quango to help his business Evraz upgrade a steel mill abroad.

The British investment in Canada came as the Thai owners of the Redcar steel plant near Middlesbrough announced 1,700 redundancies as a result of the decision to mothball the site.

Abramovich's £45million has come from the UK Export Finance fund (UKEF), which last year backed a construction deal in Dubai.

Critics have questioned why the Government is not forcing the billionaire, who owns a super yacht, one of London's grandest mansions and a Premier League football club, to find the cash from his own 'deep pockets'.

Jonathan Isaby, Chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'British taxpayers will be shocked to learn that they're subsidising cheap loans for companies controlled by billionaire oligarchs. If this company needs finance, it should come from commercial lenders not from hard-pressed families.

'Mr Abramovich should dip into his own deep pockets'.

Mr Abramovich, who recently enjoyed a holiday in Scotland on his £1.5billion super yacht, owns 30 per cent of Evraz.

The company will pay British company Primetals Technologies to carry out the steel mill improvements in Saskatchewan.

Margaret Eyres, who is in charge of lending at UKEF, says the loans are available for work in countries where companies might find borrowing difficult - and Evrez has a low credit rating.

Mrs Eyres insists that 'appropriate checks' on the Abramovich deal have been made.

When asked about the Abramovich deal she told The Times: 'In the end, we are lending to a company that is buying goods and services from the UK.'

£1.5billion: The private luxury yacht of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, Eclipse, anchors off Bodrum in Turkey

£90million: This is Roman's London mansion, which in July he applied to expand from 16,000 sq ft, to almost 20,000 sq ft - adding the new underground pool, plus a sauna and steam room

WHAT IS UK EXPORT FINANCE? The quango that has offered the £45million to a steel firm linked to Roman Abramovich employs 200 people and offers exporters insurance and loans at a beneficial rate - especially if they have poorer credit ratings. This is all with aim of improving trade with British business. According to its website it: Insures UK exporters against non-payment;

Helps overseas buyers to purchase goods and/or services from UK exporters by guaranteeing bank loans to finance those purchases;

Shares credit risks with banks Insuring UK investors in overseas markets against political risks. Earlier this year it also was announced it would review Iran's creditworthiness - one of the first steps to normalising trade between the two countries after this week's nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran. Advertisement

The true scale of the Russian oligrach's wealth has remained a mystery but it is estimated to be between £5billion and £7billion.

The jewels in his crown are his 557ft £1.5billion super yacht Eclipse, and his £90million Kensington mansion.

He has made his money from property, steel and mining since the collapse of communism in Russia.

He was married to ex-wife Irina, mother of five of his six children, and is now is married to art collector Daria ‘Dasha’ Zhukova, 34.

In 2012 he was forced to reveal some of his wealth to the Russian authorities.

He said he has almost £72million in 22 bank accounts, and more than £25million held in shares.

Mr Abramovich also said he had six apartments and one house in London, four homes in Russia, three homes in France - including two in its Caribbean colony of St Barts - and two U.S. ski lodges

He also has seven cars, including two BMWs, three Mercedes, a Range Rover and a £7,000 VW Golf.

Celebrations: Mr Abramovich also also owns Chelsea - a brand worth £500million - and critics say that he should have raised the cash for the steel mill refurb himself

His 100 per cent ownership of Chelsea FC was named as one of his main assets.

It was a far cry from Mr Abramovich’s first declaration as a Russian MP in 1998 when his only car was a modest Lada, and he reported he had no land or properties.