The UK government is preparing a possible court case against former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich after he missed a deadline to release £2.5bn he raised from the sale of the club.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer announced in mid-December that the Treasury was issuing a licence for the transfer of the frozen funds to a foundation to be used to provide aid in Ukraine.
The Russian businessman was warned at the time that if he did not do so within 90 days, the government would take him to court in the UK.
Government officials said they would now take steps to prepare for a potential court case – and have written to Mr Abramovich’s lawyers to warn them of this.
A government spokesperson said: “We gave Roman Abramovich his last chance to do the right thing. Once again, he has failed to make the donation he committed to.
“We will now take further steps to ensure that the promise he made at the time of the Chelsea sale is kept.”
Mr Abramovich rose to prominence in the UK when he bought Chelsea Football Club in 2003, before pumping billions into the club, winning several trophies including multiple Premier League titles and the Champions League.
He made his billions in the post-Soviet Russian era, and has been said to be an ally to Vladimir Putin.
However, when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Mr Abramovich was sanctioned by the Boris Johnson government due to his links to the Russian leader.
As part of this, he was forced to sell his stake in Chelsea, and he announced that the frozen proceeds would be earmarked “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”, including “providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery”.
But the £2.5bn received for the sale has stayed in the deep freeze ever since, not available to support Kyiv and kept in an inaccessible account.
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