Three years after Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was forced to sell Premier League club Chelsea, the British government said on Tuesday it was prepared to go to court to ensure the proceeds reached war victims in Ukraine.
Abramovich was sanctioned in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and sold two-time Champions League winner Chelsea to a consortium fronted by Americans Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) in May of that year.
Abramovich said before the sale that net proceeds would go to a charitable foundation “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.”
But the money remained frozen in a bank and the British government said it was still to make its way to those in need.
A joint statement by Treasury chief Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the government was ready to mount legal action.
“The government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine, following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion. We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far,” they said. “While the door for negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to pursue this through the courts if required, to ensure people suffering in Ukraine can benefit from these proceeds as soon as possible.”
Abramovich was sanctioned when the British government targeted what then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss described as “oligarchs and kleptocrats” with close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and “complicit in his aggression.”
The funds from the sale, however, still belong to Abramovich even though they are frozen.
They cannot be used or moved without the issue of a licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
The government insists they must be used for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
