Rachel Reeves and David Lammy say they are ‘frustrated’ at the slow progress in getting hold of the proceeds from Roman Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea – which could be used to support Ukraine
The Government could be set for a court showdown with former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich over £2.5billion he got from selling the Premier League club.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the cash should be used to support Ukraine after Russia’s illegal invasion. And Defence Secretary John Healey this morning said it was “quite right” to do so because of Abramovich’s connections to Vladimir Putin’s government.
Ms Reeves and Mr Lammy said they were “frustrated” by the failure to reach agreement with Abramovich on the frozen proceeds of the sale. The Russian oligarch sold the West London club in 2022 after being sanctioned following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The money was frozen and is being held in a UK bank account. However the cash cannot be moved without a licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
Ms Reeves and Mr Lammy said: “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.
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“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.”
Mr Healey told Sky News: “These are assets which could be put to use to support Ukraine and particularly the development of Ukraine if we get a ceasefire.
“The Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary are right to say we’ll take every step, including potential legal action, which will make these assets available to Ukraine in the future.”
The UK sanctions list said Abramovich has had a “close relationship for decades” with Putin, which the then-football club owner has previously denied. At the time Liz Truss, who was Foreign Secretary, said: “The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands.”
Abramovich’s assets were frozen and he was forced to sell the Premier League club. This process concluded when the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium acquired the Blues in May 2022.
The Government faces pressure to speed up the release of frozen assets from hundreds of sanctioned figures with links to the Putin regime. In March the Treasury revealed there were over £25billion sitting in frozen bank accounts.
At that point the UK had sanctioned 2,001 invididuals and organisations linked to the Putin regime. Ministers are under pressure to pass emergency legislation allowing the sums to be released to help Ukraine rebuild.
In March Lib Dem leader SIr Ed Davey said: “More Ukrainians are being killed every day as Putin’s barbaric invasion continues. To stand idly by and not use these assets to support them in their struggle would be a shocking dereliction of duty.”