Ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich pledged to divert all proceeds to a foundation to benefit victims of the war. But three years later and the cash still remains unused, a legal adviser said today


The £2.5 billion generated from the sale of Chelsea FC is “still locked up” despite it being committed to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the club in 2022 after being placed under sanction by the Government over his links to Russia’s invasion that year. The oligarch pledged to divert all proceeds to a foundation to benefit victims of the war. But three years later and the cash still remains unused, a legal adviser said today.

Lyra Nightingale, from human rights organisation Redress, which helps deliver justice and reparations for survivors of torture, claimed there had been “no clear reason from the Government as to why that is so”.

The proceeds of that were to go for the benefit of Ukraine,” she said. “Three years later, we are still waiting. And there is no clear reason from the Government as to why that is so.

They’re still locked up. That money has been expressly committed to humanitarian purposes in Ukraine.” She called it a “phenomenal sum of money”.

The legal adviser added: “It’s just stuck there. We don’t know why it’s stuck. There’s a real lack of transparency. And over three years of campaigning for that money to go where the Government said it would go, that has still not happened.”
The House of Lords European Affairs Committee has previously reported the cash was frozen in a UK bank account amid “disagreement” about where it should be spent.

Last night the Government vowed to “double down” on finding a resolution. The Foreign Office said that it remained frozen in a bank account while plans were drawn up about how to distribute it.

A spokesperson for the department said: “This government is working hard to ensure the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea FC reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible. The proceeds are currently frozen in a UK bank account while a new independent foundation is established to manage and distribute the money.

UK officials continue to hold discussions with Mr Abramovich’s representatives, experts and international partners, and we will double down on our efforts to reach a resolution.”

And Abromavich's spirit is still haunting Chelsea.