Former Chelsea Owner Told to Transfer Money to Ukraine Victims, OR Else...

Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been given a final warning by the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, to transfer the £2.5 billion earned from the sale of the West London club to the victims of Ukraine. On Wednesday, he declared that the ‘clock is ticking’ and Abramovich should release the aforementioned amount to the Ukrainian people who were victims of the war with Russia.

Starmer addressed the parliament and told that the former Chelsea owner to keep his promise & release the funds. He was also warned that failure to do so would lead to the UK Government taking Roman Abramovich to court. Abramovich's account was frozen after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, because of his links to Putin. Here is an excerpt below from the UK Prime Minister's speech on the former Chelsea owner.

UK Frustrated Over the Failure of the Transfer of Funds by Roman Abramovich

Also in June this year, the ministers made their frustration clear and issued a legal threat to the Russian billionaire, but no significant progress was made later. Abramovich's legal team, however, said that failure to decide how & where the money should be sent is the reason behind the delay. The UK government is dedicated to distributing the funds to the Ukrainian people for humanitarian purposes, while Abramovich thinks that the funds should be available to all, including the Russian war victims.

The frozen funds of the former Chelsea owner are currently held by a UK bank account, although they remain his property on legal terms. This needs a license from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in order to move the funds further, and it will be interesting to see when that finally happens. Whether it's Roman Abramovich or the present ownership, unfortunately, Chelsea owners and controversies have always gone hand-in-hand, as even the current owners, Todd Boehly & Clearlake Capital, have faced scrutiny over some of their businesses.