Abramovich threatened with lawsuit over Chelsea sale
Former Chelsea FC owner, Roman Abramovich, has been threatened with a lawsuit from the UK government. The government hopes to ensure that money from the sale of the football team goes towards Ukraine.
The £2.5 billion in proceeds have been frozen in a bank account in the UK since the sale. Abramovich has been sanctioned following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022. The British government hopes that the money goes towards humanitarian aid for Ukraine but the former Chelsea owner has revealed that he would prefer for it to go to “all victims of the war in Ukraine.”
“While the door for negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to pursue this through the courts if required,” Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a joint statement. They hope “to ensure people suffering in Ukraine can benefit from these proceeds as soon as possible,” they said.
“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,” they added. “We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far.”
The delay in the funds being released is due to a disagreement between the government and Abramovich’s lawyers.
The Russian billionaire made his fortune thanks to oil and gas and was given a special license to sell Chelsea after the invasion as long as he could prove that he would not benefit from the sale. He allegedly has strong ties to Russian leader Vladimir Putin though he denies this.
When he revealed his decision to sell it, he said that he would donate the proceeds through a foundation “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine,” including those in Russia. The British government has pushed back against this, arguing that they should only be spent on humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
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