The UK government has declared it is prepared to take Roman Abramovich to court in a bid to extract the frozen £2.5billion generated from the sale of Chelsea Football Club in May 2022.
The UK government, then led by Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, forced Abramovich to sell the Premier League side after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Abramovich was described by the Government as a “pro-Kremlin oligarch,” and his assets were sanctioned.
It was then announced by Abramovich via a statement on Chelsea’s website on March 2, 2022, that “all net proceeds from the sale will be donated for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”.
The club was eventually sold to Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly in May 2022.
But more than three years on from that sale, the £2.5bn ($3.6bn; €3bn at today’s rates) remains frozen in a UK bank account linked to Abramovich.
This has now led Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy to say they are prepared to take Abramovich to court to retrieve the funds.
“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,” Reeves and Lammy said in a joint statement.
“We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach an agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far.
“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.”
The Athletic previously reported that a key reason for the delay is because Abramovich and the UK government are yet to find an agreement on how the money should be spent.
Abramovich wants the £2.5bn to benefit all the victims of the war, including Russian soldiers, and wants it to also be used to help other charitable causes outside of Ukraine.
But the UK Government, now led by Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer, wants it to be ring-fenced for humanitarian causes in Ukraine — a position that was also held by Johnson in 2022.
Mike Penrose, a former chief executive of UNICEF UK, was appointed to set up an organisation for the £2.5bn to be distributed.
But until an agreement can be found between Abramovich and the UK Government, there will not be a foundation for Penrose to oversee.
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