Roman Abramovich is refusing to sign off on the £2.3BN Ukraine is due to receive from last year’s sale of Chelsea… and there are fears the money will NEVER reach victims of Russia’s war on the nation
The £2.3billion proceeds from the sale of Chelsea more than a year ago may not reach victims of Russia’s war on Ukraine this year, or perhaps at all.
It seems the sticking point is that Roman Abramovich wants a substantial chunk of the money to go to Russia, or rather Russians affected by the conflict. And neither the British government nor the European Commission will agree to such a move while sanctions are in place against Russia because of Vladimir Putin‘s aggression against Ukraine.
Astonishingly, it seems that Abramovich, himself a sanctioned individual for his closeness to the Putin regime, must ‘sign off’ on the release of the funds, which he has so far declined to do because he wants the money shared across Russia as well as Ukraine.
Foreign office sources have confirmed this is the case, and point to Secretary of State James Cleverly saying last week he could not guarantee the money would be cleared for release before the Government breaks for summer recess next month. Ministers return in September.
Cleverly said: ‘We want to make sure that the money that is released goes exclusively to the recipients it is aimed at. I need full reassurance that is the case.’