British government threatens Abramovich with legal action if he doesn’t hand over £2.5 billion from Chelsea sale to aid Ukraine
The British government is threatening to sue former Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich to ensure the £2.5bn proceeds from the sale of the club go to humanitarian aid in Ukraine. About this informs BBC.
The funds were frozen in British bank accounts after Abramovich was hit with sanctions over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. London insists that this money go to help Ukrainians, but Abramovich insists that the funds should go to “all victims of the war in Ukraine”, including those who suffered in Russia.
“We are leaving the door open to negotiations, but are fully prepared to go to court if necessary. We want to ensure that the people suffering in Ukraine can benefit from these proceeds as quickly as possible. The government is determined to ensure that the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club are used for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine following the illegal full-scale invasion of Russia.” – emphasized the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain, David Lammy.
Abramovich, who has been linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was given permission to sell the club in 2022 on the condition that he would not receive any profit from it. Due to the sanctions, he formally does not have access to the funds, but legally they remain his. During the sale of “Chelsea”, Abramovich said that the proceeds will be sent to a fund to help “all victims of the war”, but the mechanism for distributing these funds has not yet been determined.
