£2.3 billion from the Chelsea takeover remain static in a UK bank account and nothing of it has arrived in Ukraine

Billions of pounds from the sale of Chelsea are yet to be transferred to a foundation being set up to provide Ukraine with aid, close to a year on from the club’s takeover. The Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium concluded the £4.22 billion Chelsea takeover at the end of May last year, putting a full stop to Roman Abramovich’s 19-year ownership at the Premier League club.

£2.3 billion from the Chelsea takeover stayed static in the UK bank account, and nothing has reached Ukraine yet

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich had put Chelsea on sale and the oligarchy was then sanctioned by the UK government concerning his alleged connections with Vladimir Putin. 

The funds received from the sale were deposited in a frozen account to make sure Abramovich didn’t get any proceeds of the sale, with a brand new set up of foundation ready to get £2.4 billion of the proceeds. 

Mike Penrose, the ex-Unicef UK Chief executive, told Bloomberg that close to a year on, funds are yet to arrive. He further said, 

“We’re ready to go, and we’re just waiting for approval. There are complexities and delays based on political approval both between the UK and the EU and within the UK. 

We aren’t going to make any decisions until we know the money’s coming. We don’t want to end up with a charity but no money.” 

Foreign office minister Leo Docherty’s response

Leo Docherty, foreign office minister, said, 

“It is still frozen in the UK bank account. The administrative work is being done, and a licence is being applied for, but we hope it is on the start of its journey to Ukraine to help the people where they need help.”

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