8th April 2026
April 8 – A new charitable foundation aimed at unlocking the £2.35 billion frozen from Roman Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea FC has formally submitted its application to the UK Charity Commission.
The Foundation for the Victims of Conflict will be overseen by Mike Penrose, a former UNICEF executive, and carries serious institutional weight in its trustee appointments. Martin Griffiths, a senior UK diplomat and former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, has been named a trustee, alongside Caryl Stern, who was previously president and CEO of UNICEF USA and executive director of the Walton Family Foundation. Nimco Ali, co-founder and CEO of The Five Foundation, a global partnership dedicated to ending female genital mutilation, completes the board.
The Charity Commission confirmed it has received the application and will assess whether it meets the legal definition of a charity and whether trustees comply with their legal duties. Regulatory approval is not guaranteed, and further negotiations between Abramovich’s team and the UK government are expected regardless of the outcome.
The foundation’s creation reflects the central tension in this dispute. The UK government insists the Chelsea proceeds must be spent exclusively in Ukraine. Abramovich’s position, articulated by his lawyers, is that the funds are “wholly” his and that the government’s conditions amount to what they characterise as a “punitive measure” rather than a legitimate humanitarian framework. The foundation’s global mandate is a direct counter to the Ukraine-only restriction.
That impasse has hardened over time. Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a legal threat to Abramovich in December, warning the “clock is ticking.” The government has not moved it position. “Our absolute priority remains ensuring the funds reach the most vulnerable in Ukraine who have endured over four years of relentless suffering,” a Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said.
Complicating matters further is an active investigation in Jersey, where more than $7 billion in Abramovich-linked assets were seized by the Jersey Royal Court in March 2022.
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