UK government ready to take Abramovich to court over Chelsea sale proceeds for Ukraine
Three years after Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was forced to sell Premier League club Chelsea, the British government said on Tuesday it was prepared to go to court to ensure the proceeds reached war victims in Ukraine.
Abramovich was sanctioned in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and sold two-time Champions League winner Chelsea to a consortium fronted by Americans Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) in May of that year.
Abramovich said before the sale that net proceeds would go to a charitable foundation 'for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.'
But the money remained frozen in a bank and the British government said it was still to make its way to those in need.
A joint statement by Treasury chief Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the government was ready to mount legal action.
'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," they said. 'While the door for negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to pursue this through the courts if required, to ensure people suffering in Ukraine can benefit from these proceeds as soon as possible.'
Abramovich was sanctioned when the British government targeted what then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss described as 'oligarchs and kleptocrats' with close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and 'complicit in his aggression.'
The funds from the sale, however, still belong to Abramovich even though they are frozen.
They cannot be used or moved without the issue of a licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
The government insists they must be used for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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This image from 2016 shows Russian President Vladimir Putin outside of It Matters Ukraine's drone attacks on military airfields deep inside Russian territory and the targeting of the bridge, which serves as a symbol of Moscow's occupation of Crimea, delivers a PR boost and possible leverage for Kyiv amid peace talks that the Russian president has been accused of stalling. What To Know Overnight Saturday, two bridges collapsed in Russia's western regions bordering Ukraine, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens, according to local authorities. It is not clear whether what their causes are or if the two collapses are even linked or but Russia's investigative committee said they were being investigated as potential terrorist attacks. Ignatov, senior Crisis Group analyst for Russia, said Ukraine was likely behind sabotage attacks targeting the bridges although Kyiv has not commented on the incidents. 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Ukraine may have many more of these prepositioned containers ready with hundreds or thousands of drones for subsequent attacks, and even if it didn't, the Russians are now on the lookout, Faintuch added. Murrett, deputy director of the Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law, told Newsweek that from a tactical military standpoint, they were very effective attacks that had dealt a significant blow to Moscow's military machine. He said Ukraine is demonstrating new tactics and what he describes as 21st-century war fighting that has an impact far beyond their borders. Sources close to Russian officials told Bloomberg that damage inflicted on the warplanes including targets on Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3 bombers "is likely to rattle decision makers around Putin." 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Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of nonprofit Hope for Ukraine: "For Putin it's personal because he is a former FSB agent, and is being outplayed by a former comic [Volodymyr Zelensky]. Putin will respond by increasing strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine, but that is all he can do at this time." What Happens Next Ukraine's drone attack on Russian airfields was likely intended to disrupt the Kremlin's position that it has the upper hand and can dictate the terms of any peace deal, according to the Crisis Group's Ignatov. "It's an attempt to change the narrative that Ukraine is losing the war gradually," he said.
