UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has issued a licence authorizing the transfer of £2.5bn from frozen funds received by Roman Abramovich from the sale of Chelsea Football Club to Ukraine. He made clear to the club’s former Russian owner that the government is prepared to go to court if Abramovich fails to honor his commitment to release the money.
“My message to Abramovich is simple—the clock is ticking, honor the commitment you made and transfer the funds immediately,” Starmer said on Wednesday during a session of the House of Commons. “If that does not happen, we are ready to go to court so that every pound reaches those whose lives have been torn apart by Putin’s illegal war.”
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, British authorities forced Abramovich to sell the club. Approval for the transaction was granted on the condition that neither the businessman himself nor entities linked to him would benefit from the sale. The multibillion-pound proceeds have, however, remained frozen in an account at a British bank since London imposed sanctions on Abramovich over his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.