UK tells Abramovich to give Chelsea money to Ukrainian cause or face legal action
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the UK parliament that Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich had one last chance to donate the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea football club to a cause in Ukraine, as he pledged.
"The clock is ticking on Roman Abramovich to honor the commitment he made when Chelsea FC was sold and transfer the 2.5 billion pounds ($3.4 billion) to a humanitarian cause for Ukraine," Starmer said on Dec. 17.
Abramovich sold the club in 2022, when the UK sanctioned him after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine due to his close ties with the Kremlin. The transaction was approved by the UK, after Abramovich proved that he would not personally benefit from the sale.
The oligarch pledged at the time to use the proceeds of the sale “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.”
But the funds have since remained frozen in a UK bank account due to diverging views over how the money should be spent. The UK has maintained that the funds should be used solely in Ukraine.
The UK government today issued a license which permits the cash to be mobilized. The terms of the license specify that the proceeds must go to humanitarian causes in Ukraine, according to a UK government press release.
Abramovich would have to agree with the terms of the license for the transfer of the money to go ahead.
The government said that they would also consider any alternative proposals that Abramovich has to voluntarily donate the cash to Ukraine.
"If he doesn’t act then we are prepared to do what is necessary to make sure that money gets to the Ukrainian people," said UK chancellor Rachel Reeves in the press release.
Starmer told the House of Commons that the UK is prepared to go to court so that "every penny reaches those whose lives have been torn apart by Putin's illegal war."
The move comes on the eve of a key EU summit in Brussels, where European leaders will determine the fate of a "reparations loan," which could see up to 210 billion euros lent to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets.
The European plan differs in that it would tap sovereign assets belonging to the Russian central bank, rather than using the frozen assets of private individuals.
Abramovich owned Chelsea football club from 2003 to 2022.
