Copyright AP Photo

By Sasha Vakulina

Published on 17/12/2025 – 15:30 GMT+1

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Since the Russian billionaire sold Chelsea in 2022 under pressure from the British government, the funds from the sale have been frozen. PM Starmer is now allowing him to use it, but only for one cause: to help Ukraine.

The UK has issued a licence allowing €2.8 billion from Roman Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea Football Club to be transferred to humanitarian causes in Ukraine, warning the Russian oligarch he faces legal action if he fails to comply, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the House of Commons on Wednesday.

“The clock is ticking on Roman Abramovich to honour the commitment he made when Chelsea FC was sold and transfer the £2.5bn (€2.8bn) to a humanitarian cause for Ukraine,” Starmer said.

“This government is prepared to enforce it through the courts so that every penny reaches those whose lives have been torn apart by Putin’s illegal war.”

Under the new licence, proceeds must be directed to humanitarian causes in Ukraine, but future gains may be spent more broadly on victims of conflict worldwide. But the funds cannot benefit Abramovich or other individuals under sanctions.

The UK sanctioned Abramovich in a crackdown on Russian oligarchs after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, triggering a rushed sale of the English Premier League football club.

Since then, the funds have been frozen amid a deadlock in negotiations with the Russian billionaire over whether they should be spent exclusively in Ukraine or also outside the country.

“It’s unacceptable that more than £2.5 billion of money owed to the Ukrainian people can be allowed to remain frozen in a UK bank account,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said in the statement.

The UK government has now promised to establish a foundation to disburse the funds, led by Mike Penrose, former head of UNICEF UK.