The UK government is set to launch legal action against Roman Abramovich over the £2.5 billion proceeds from the 2022 sale of Chelsea Football Club, which remain frozen due to ongoing sanctions.
Abramovich, who owned Chelsea for nearly 20 years, sold the club after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, vowing to donate the proceeds to humanitarian causes benefiting all victims of the war.
However, the UK government imposed sanctions shortly after his announcement, citing his alleged ties to the Kremlin.
These sanctions froze the funds pending the creation of a Charity Commission-approved foundation, which has yet to materialize due to regulatory and political deadlock.
According to Goal, senior government officials, including newly appointed Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the prolonged delay is no longer tenable.
In a joint statement, they declared: “The government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine.
“While the door for negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to pursue this through the courts if required.”
Under the UK’s sanctions regime, the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) must issue a license before any disbursement.
That approval hinges on the establishment and verification of the proposed charity, a process that has reportedly stalled due to lack of agreement between Abramovich’s representatives and UK authorities.
Abramovich’s camp argues that conditions have been retroactively tightened, making compliance more difficult than initially promised.
The current Labour administration rejects that claim, stating that the funds will be used solely for humanitarian relief in Ukraine, with no exceptions or expanded scope.
