Roman Abramovich continues to challenge the confiscation of the 2.9 billion euros from the sale of the Chelsea club. “It's politically motivated”
British publication The Times revealed on Monday that Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich had his lawyers send a letter to the government in London regarding the 2.5 billion pounds (2.9 billion euros) from the sale of the Chelsea club in March 2022, an amount that remains frozen.
This amount was frozen as a result of the sanctions imposed by the British government following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, writes News.ro.
In his letter, Roman Abramovich, the owner of the Chelsea football club from 2003 to 2022, states that he fully owns these funds, contests their freezing and claims that he will use them to help the victims of the war in Ukraine.
The Russian businessman also contests the Jersey authorities' investigation against him and the freezing of funds in this territory of the British Crown.
“Mr. Abramovici categorically rejects the accusations and contests the investigation, which he considers to be politically motivated,” reads the letter from the lawyers of the former owner of Chelsea. “He has also brought legal proceedings against the Jersey government for embezzlement and abuse of power.”
Jersey authorities have frozen, in addition to the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea, a total of 5.3 billion pounds (6.12 billion euros) belonging to Roman Abramovich.
Abramovic's lawyers stated that only the withdrawal of the charges and the release of the funds will allow him to finance his charitable foundation. The British government wants all the money to go to Ukraine, while the oligarch would like to extend it to war victims in Russia.
Great Britain gave Abramovic an ultimatum
Roman Abramovich pledged in March 2022 to donate all the net proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club – around £2.5bn – to help victims of the war in Ukraine.
In December, Britain announced that it was giving the Russian oligarch one last chance to pay the sum to Ukraine, otherwise it was ready to sue him.
“It is unacceptable that more than £2.5 billion owed to the Ukrainian people remains locked up in a UK bank account,” London's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said in a statement at the time.
Britain has sanctioned Abramovich as part of a crackdown on Russian oligarchs after Moscow's troops invaded Ukraine in 2022, triggering a hasty sale of the Premier League club and a revenue freeze.
Britain has called for the funds to be spent only in Ukraine, in line with wider European pressure for Moscow to cover the costs of the death and destruction caused by its invasion.
If the Russian businessman fails to release the funds quickly, the government said in a statement that it is “fully prepared to sue him, if necessary, to enforce the agreement reached with him in 2022.” Deadline set: March 17, 2026.
