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The UK government has stated that it is prepared to take Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to court to secure the transfer of more than £2.3 billion (US$3.2 billion) from the sale of Chelsea Football Club to Ukraine for humanitarian purposes.
Source: European Pravda with reference to Bloomberg
Details: Abramovich sold Chelsea to a consortium led by American investor Todd Boehly in May 2022 after he was sanctioned by the UK and the European Union for his ties to Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.
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In the three years since then, the proceeds from the sale have been frozen in a bank account in the United Kingdom and cannot be transferred or used without a licence from the Financial Sanctions Enforcement Office, a division of the UK Treasury.
Successive UK governments have said that the proceeds from the sale of the London football club should be used to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine and have tried to reach an agreement with Abramovich on the use of the money for this purpose.
In a statement issued on the evening of 2 June, the UK government said it had been unable to reach such an agreement with Abramovich and was now considering legal action against him.
"The government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea football club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine, following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion. We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far," Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a joint statement.
The statement also emphasises that although the door to negotiations remains open, the UK is prepared, if necessary, to seek legal action to ensure that Ukraine can access these funds as soon as possible.
Background: In March, UK Foreign Secretary David Lemmy promised to take steps to help release funds from the sale of Chelsea.
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