JERSEY remains caught up in an escalating dispute over the fate of proceeds from Roman Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea Football Club – as lawyers for the sanctioned Russian oligarch warn the UK government that any attempts to seize the funds will be challenged.
The latest twist in the long-running saga comes just a few months after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated that Mr Abramovich should “pay up now”, in relation to a three-year-old commitment to transfer £2.5 billion to fund humanitarian aid for those impacted by the war in Ukraine.
Sir Keir also said that his government was “prepared to enforce it through the courts so that every penny reaches those whose lives have been torn apart by Putin’s illegal war”.
The funds – which have remained frozen in a UK bank account since 2022 – stem from the sale of Chelsea FC in the wake of the Russian invasion.
Mr Abramovich was given permission to sell the football club on the basis that he would not benefit personally, after he stated that the proceeds of the sale would go to a charitable foundation “for the benefit of all victims of the war”.
However, the Russia-born businessman has not yet released the money amid a disagreement over where it should be directed, with the UK Government maintaining that
the proceeds should be earmarked specifically for humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
It recently emerged that Mr Abramovich’s lawyers had sent a letter to the UK Government asserting that the frozen Chelsea FC sale proceeds remained the property of his company Fordstam and signalled that any move to seize them would be contested in court.
The dispute has also been linked to legal proceedings in Jersey connected to the oligarch, who has previously accused Island authorities of “paralysing” his company structures and argued this constrained his ability to make the Chelsea FC funds available.
Separately, Jersey’s government has been accused of conspiracy and bad faith by Mr Abramovich after deleting data related to a criminal investigation brought against the tycoon, which ultimately did not lead to any charges being brought against the Russian. A spokesperson for the Government of Jersey has previously denied the conspiracy accusation.
Mr Abramovich was given his Jersey housing qualifications in 2017 following approval from then-Chief Minister Ian Gorst.
In January, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said she was “staggered” by reports that senior counsel appointed by Mr Abramovich in relation to the Jersey proceedings include the Shadow Attorney General, Lord David Wolfson KC.
She stated that “our focus remains ensuring that there is no further delay in proceeds from the sale of Chelsea football club reaching humanitarian causes in Ukraine”.
