“Unexpectedly” Abramovich refuses to give Ukraine money from the sale of Chelsea
3 June 2025 15:04
The British government has officially threatened to prosecute Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich if he does not transfer the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea football club to support Ukraine. This was announced in a joint statement by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing the BBC.
The amount of 2.5 billion pounds received from the sale of the London football club remains blocked in a British bank account since the transaction was completed. These funds are under arrest in connection with sanctions imposed on Abramovich after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Dispute over the purpose of the funds
The main dispute between the British government and Abramovich’s legal team is over the ultimate beneficiaries of the funds. The British government insists that all the money should be used exclusively for humanitarian aid to Ukraine, while the oligarch’s representatives claim that he wants the funds to help “all victims of the war in Ukraine,” which includes Russian citizens.
“While the door to negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to take action through the courts if necessary,”
– British officials said in a joint statement. They emphasized their determination to
“to ensure that people suffering in Ukraine can benefit from these funds as quickly as possible.”
The history of sanctions and the sale of the club
Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire who built his financial empire on the oil and gas business, was granted a special license to sell Chelsea after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. The condition for the license was to prove that he would not personally benefit from the sale of the club.
The oligarch has repeatedly denied having close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, although the British authorities consider such ties to be proven. Under the current British sanctions, Abramovich cannot access the 2.5 billion pounds from the sale, but legally these funds still belong to him.
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Unfulfilled promises and criticism
When Abramovich first announced his decision to sell the football club, he publicly stated that all proceeds from the sale would be donated through a charitable foundation “in favor of all victims of the war in Ukraine,” which would include Russian citizens. This position has been strongly opposed by the British government, which insists that the funding should be used exclusively for humanitarian efforts inside Ukraine.
Last year, a House of Lords committee strongly criticized the situation. The report noted that it was “unclear” why Abramovich’s promise to use the funds to support Ukraine had not been fulfilled and the assets remained frozen.
“This impasse reflects poorly on both Ms. Abramovich and the government, which should have sought more binding commitments,”
– the parliamentary report says.
Current position of the British government
British officials have expressed deep disappointment that no agreement has been reached with Abramovich’s representatives.
“The Government is determined to ensure that the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian targets in Ukraine following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion,”
– the official statement emphasized.
Russian money abroad
The situation with the blocked Chelsea sale proceeds has become symbolic of broader efforts to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine in the ongoing war.
Some €260 billion of the Central Bank of Russia’s assets have been frozen in the form of securities and cash in the jurisdictions of the G7, the EU and Australia, with more than two-thirds of them frozen in the EU. belgium controls €190 billion of assets in euros, the United States controls assets worth between $40 and $60 billion, and the United Kingdom controls about £25 billion.
Currently, the income from these assets is used to cover loans to Ukraine, but the funds themselves remain untouched.
As for the funds of private individuals, the American think tank Atlantic Council claimed at the beginning of the full-scale war that Russians had about $1 trillion of “dark money” abroad. According to a 2020 report, a quarter of this amount is controlled by Putin and his oligarchs. This money is generally off-limits to Ukraine’s Western partners.
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