UK tells Abramovich: ‘Last chance or we’ll take you to court’ over £2.5B Chelsea proceeds

The U.K. government issued the sanctioned Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich, a final warning to pay £2.5 billion to Ukraine or face court action.

In a statement, British Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said a license had been issued to permit the £2.5 billion proceeds from Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea Football Club to be transferred to humanitarian causes in Ukraine.

If he fails to comply, the government is prepared to take the matter to court, they said.

The multi-billion-pound proceeds of Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea Football Club are frozen in a bank account, where they have been since 2022, when the government sanctioned Abramovich over his ties to Vladimir Putin.

Chelsea was sold by Abramovich to an American consortium after the U.K.’s sanctions watchdog permitted the sale. Abramovich had to demonstrate he would not personally benefit from the transaction — but the proceeds have remained untouched in a bank due to uncertainty over how exactly they will be used to support Kyiv.

Previously, Abramovich said he would use the funds to help “all victims of the war.” This had been interpreted as help for both Russians and Ukrainians.

Today, the government said it would consider any proposal toward humanitarian causes in Ukraine, as long as the funds do not benefit Abramovich or other sanctioned individuals.

It added that any future gains earned by the funds can be spent more broadly, on “victims of conflict worldwide.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government is “prepared to enforce” the commitment for the funds to reach Ukraine, “so that every penny reaches those whose lives have been torn apart by Putin’s illegal war.”

Seizing the assets from Abramovich has presented a legal minefield. He has never been charged with a crime related to his sanctioned assets, which means the British government needs Abramovich’s consent to use the money as it remains his property.

In both the U.K. and the European Union, the profits on sanctioned assets have been used to guarantee loans for Ukraine. Recently, European allies have drawn up plans to use the assets themselves to guarantee loans for Ukraine, though they have yet to reach a deal on frozen assets worth around €210 billion.

Ukraine faces a projected budget shortfall of €71.7 billion next year.