The UK government has threatened to drag ex-Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich to court over the frozen £2.5 billion in proceeds from his sale of the football club.
Abramovich had claimed he wanted to donate the money to victims of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Britain sanctioned Abramovich in a crackdown on Russian oligarchs.
This led to a quick sale of the Premier League club and freezing of the proceeds.
The UK is now demanding that the funds be spent only in Ukraine. This is in line with a wider European push for Moscow to foot the bill for the deaths and destruction triggered by its invasion.
Abramovich wants more flexibility and wants the money to go to all victims.
In a joint statement, British finance minister, Rachel Reeves and foreign minister, David Lammy said on Tuesday: “The government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine, following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion.
“We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far.
They added that the door for negotiations would remain open, but that they were “fully prepared to pursue this through the courts if required.”;
