Release date
Britain has issued a license allowing 2.8 billion euros from the sale of Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea Football Club to be transferred to humanitarian causes in Ukraine and warned the Russian oligarch that it will face legal action if it does not comply, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the House of Commons on Wednesday.
“The clock is ticking on Roman Abramovich to keep his promise when he sold Chelsea FC and send £2.5bn (€2.8bn) to humanitarian causes in Ukraine,” Starmer said.
“This government is prepared to force through the courts to ensure that every penny reaches those whose lives have been torn apart by President Putin’s illegal war.”
Under the new license, proceeds must go to humanitarian causes in Ukraine, but future proceeds could be used more widely by victims of conflicts around the world. But the funds cannot benefit Abramovich or any other sanctioned individuals.
away from the public eye
After Moscow invaded Ukraine in earnest in 2022, Britain imposed sanctions on Abramovich for cracking down on the Russian oligarchy, and a hasty sale of English Premier League football clubs began.
Since then, the funds have been frozen due to stalled negotiations with the Russian billionaire over whether they should be spent only within Ukraine or abroad.
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in a statement: “It is unacceptable that more than £2.5 billion of funds owed to Ukrainian citizens remain frozen in UK bank accounts.”
The UK Government has now committed to establishing a fund led by Mike Penrose, UK UNICEF Executive Director.
The move comes as European leaders continue to discuss another plan this week to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine in the coming years, with a summit scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Abramovich has been absent from public view since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Britain has sanctioned him for his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Since then, he has reportedly been keeping a low profile and spending his time between Moscow, Istanbul and Tel Aviv, where he is not subject to sanctions.
Abramovich reportedly worked on prisoner exchange negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
While trying to negotiate a peace deal in the early weeks of Moscow’s 2022 all-out war, Abramovich suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning.
