Great -Britain has threatened to bring the Russian businessman Roman Abramovich to court about the frozen 2.5 billion pounds in the proceeds of his sale of Chelsea Football Club, which they want to go to victims of the Russian war in Ukraine.
Great -Britain punished Abramovich in a harsh action against Russian oligarchs after the Moscow invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which activated a hurried sale of the Premier League club and freezing the yield.
Great -Britain wants the funds only spent in Ukraine in accordance with a broader European urge to Moscow to pay the bill for the dead and destruction caused by its invasion. Abramovich is looking for more flexibility and wants the money to go to all victims.
In a rare joint statement, the British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and Foreign Minister David Lammy said on Tuesday that the government was ready to set up efforts to secure the money.
“The government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of the Chelsea Football Club Humanitarian Goals in Ukraine, after the illegal full invasion of Russia.
“We are deeply frustrated that it was not possible to reach an agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far,” they said.
They said that the door for negotiations would remain open, but that they “were fully prepared to follow this by the courts if necessary.”
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A lawyer for Abramovich in Great Britain did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters reported in March that Great -Britain is considering legal action on the issue.
Under Abramovich, Chelsea enjoyed the most successful run in its history before the club was sold to a consortium led by the American investor Todd Boehly and private equity company Clearlake Capital in May 2022.
The proceeds from the sale are frozen on a British bank account. They cannot be moved or used without a license from the Office of Financial Sanctions implementation, the Agency in the Ministry of Finance that enforces sanctions.