Overview
- Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy issued a joint statement saying they are fully prepared to take Roman Abramovich to court if he does not agree to the government’s terms for the frozen proceeds.
- The £2.5 billion from Abramovich’s 2022 sale of Chelsea remains frozen in a UK bank account and cannot be distributed without a licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
- Ministers insist the money be used solely for humanitarian relief in Ukraine, while Abramovich has called for a broader foundation to aid all victims of the conflict, including those in Russia.
- Abramovich sold Chelsea under a special OFSI licence barring him from profiting, yet retains legal control of the proceeds, which have accrued interest over three years of impasse.
- Legal experts warn there may be no clear authority for the government to compel the transfer of sanctioned assets, highlighting the complexity of seizing oligarchs’ frozen funds.