ROMAN Abramovich’s legal team has informed the UK government that the proceeds from the Chelsea sale in 2022 are “wholly” his and that he is ready to fight any attempt to confiscate the funds.
The £2.35billion ($3.1bn at today’s exchange rate) generated from the sale of Chelsea in May 2022 remains frozen in a UK bank account belonging to Fordstam Ltd — which is a company fully owned by Abramovich — following a lengthy dispute over how the money will be spent to help victims of the war in Ukraine.
In December, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Abramovich — via a statement released by the UK Treasury — that the “clock was ticking” on him to transfer the money to a new foundation for humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
Starmer also said the UK government is “prepared to enforce it through the courts” so that “every penny reaches those whose lives have been torn apart by Putin’s illegal war” and they issued a new licence to transfer the money to a new foundation.
In correspondence seen by The Athletic, Abramovich’s lawyers have now responded to that threat and outlined that he remains “fully committed” to using the money for charitable purposes, instead pinning the lengthy impasse on the government — also adding they have no “legal basis” to “threaten litigation” or to “issue a licence unilaterally”.
“In the limited interactions that have taken place with UK authorities during this period, Mr Abramovich has consistently sought to resolve the complex legal issues preventing the donation from proceeding in order to advance his stated intention to donate the proceeds to charity,” the letter said.
“Nevertheless, the UK Government has repeatedly chosen to disregard those matters, opting instead to issue public and political statements which do nothing to resolve the situation.”
The former Chelsea owner’s lawyers also said that the “UK Government appears to be treating this proposed donation as a form of punitive measure against Mr Abramovich”.
“This is fundamentally incorrect,” the letter adds. “It is important to emphasise that the funds — although currently frozen — remain the property of Fordstam Limited, which is wholly owned by Mr Abramovich.”
The UK government, then led by Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, forced Abramovich to sell Chelsea after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. A month later Abramovich then announced via a statement on Chelsea’s website that “all net proceeds from the sale will be donated for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”.
Since the sale, however, Abramovich and the UK government have been unable to reach an agreement on how and where the money should be sent.
The Athletic has previously reported how the former Chelsea owner wants the proceeds to benefit all the victims of the war, including Russian soldiers, and to help other charitable causes outside of Ukraine.
And the letter sent by his lawyers to the UK government states that the Russian oligarch still wants to donate the money to “all” victims of the Ukraine war.
“The proposal to donate these proceeds was initiated by Mr Abramovich prior to the imposition of sanctions, and he remains fully committed to ensuring that the funds are used for charitable purposes,” the letter reads. “As such, any donation will be made voluntarily by our clients.”
In response to the letter sent by Abramovich’s lawyers, Yvette Cooper, the UK’s government’s foreign secretary, reiterated their previous position.
“This money was promised to Ukraine over three years ago,” Cooper said in a statement release to The Athletic. “It is time Roman Abramovich does the right thing, but if he won’t we will act.
“That’s why the licence has been issued. It is time this money was used to rebuild the lives of people who’ve seen devastation as a result of Putin’s illegal war.”
Forstam’s latest accounts, published in November but for the year ended June 30, 2022, showed that £1.4bn of the £2.35bn is owed to Camberley International Investments Limited, a Jersey-registered company.
This has led to questions over whether all of the £2.35bn would go towards charitable causes as the £1.4bn was the money Abramovich loaned to Chelsea during his ownership.
But, for now, the £1.4bn loan remains secondary to an ongoing criminal investigation in Jersey regarding the source of Abramovich’s funds as it cannot be released to any charitable foundation at the same time the investigation and legal action is taking place.
“Mr Abramovich denies the allegations in the strongest possible terms and has challenged the investigation, which he contends has been launched for improper political motives, and is currently engaged in related litigation against the Jersey government for unlawful means conspiracy and misfeasance in public office as a result of its conduct,” the letter adds.
