Abramovich to fight UK Government over funds from £2.5bn Chelsea sale
Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has vowed to fight the UK Government if it follows through with a threat to seize the proceeds from his £2.5bn sale of the club.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned Abramovich late last year that “the clock is ticking” on his pledge to donate the funds to victims of the conflict in Ukraine.
The sum of £2.35bn has been frozen in a UK bank account belonging to the sanctioned Russian’s company Fordstam since he sold Chelsea to a US consortium in May 2022.
Lawyers for Abramovich this week wrote to the government that stress that he “remains fully committed to ensuring that the funds are used for charitable purposes”.
According to the Times, the letter added: “Strangely, the UK government appears to be treating this proposed donation as a form of punitive measure against Mr Abramovich. This is fundamentally incorrect.
“It is important to emphasise that the funds — although currently frozen — remain the property of Fordstam Limited, which is wholly owned by Mr Abramovich.
“Should the UK government believe it has the legal basis to confiscate these funds instead, it is of course open to initiate formal confiscation proceedings, which will be contested in court.”
Abramovich won’t sign off on funds release while Jersey proceedings continue
Starmer attempted to force the issue in December by issuing a licence for the release of the funds and gave Abramovich a mid-March ultimatum to sign off.
The stand-off has been complicated by a criminal investigation into the source of the funds initiated in Jersey, which froze £5.3bn of assets in another Abramovich company, Camberley International Investments, in April 2022.
Abramovich’s lawyers argue that he cannot sign off on Fordstam releasing the Chelsea proceeds while the Jersey matter is live as the company owes Camberley £1.4bn.
Questions also remain unresolved as to which humanitarian causes would benefit from the funds, with the government insisting that they must only go to those in Ukraine itself.
Speaking in December, Starmer said: “The clock is ticking on Roman Abramovich to honour the commitment he made when Chelsea FC was sold and transfer the £2.5bn to a humanitarian cause for Ukraine.
“This Government is prepared to enforce it through the courts so that every penny reaches those whose lives have been torn apart by Putin’s illegal war.”
Lawyer Matt Showler of Trowers and Hamlins said the government’s imposition of a deadline was “a clear marker… in its attempt to inject impetus into this matter to bring it to a long overdue conclusion.”
He added: “The deadline set by the Government is ripe for challenge and almost certainly will be challenged. It is too early to say yet whether this challenge will be successful or whether the Government will succeed in its ultimate strategy of securing the release of the funds.”