Minister: Donating Chelsea sale funds to Ukrainians has taken far too long

Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell bemoaned the situation but insisted there is ‘renewed energy’ within his department to resolve it.

Then Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich during a Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, London in 2015 (Jed Leicester/PA) (PA Wire)

The Government said it has “renewed energy” to help end delays in releasing funds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club to help Ukraine war victims.

Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said it has taken “far too long” to release the funds, as he cited “significant complications” which need to be addressed.

But he told MPs that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) wants to resolve the matter “as swiftly as possible”.

Roman Abramovich sold Chelsea after he was sanctioned as part of the UK’s efforts to target Russian oligarchs following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Mr Abramovich pledged to divert all proceeds to a foundation to benefit victims of the war.

The Premier League club was sold in May 2022 for £2.5 billion, then the highest price paid for a sports team, although the House of Lords European Affairs Committee reported the cash was frozen in a UK bank account amid “disagreement” about where it should be spent.

Speaking at FCDO questions, SNP MP Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) said: “Following recent events in Ukraine, what steps are being taken to speed up the process of releasing funds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club to support all victims of the war in Ukraine wherever they are in the world?”

Mr Mitchell replied: “The time taken to release these funds is far too long and there are significant complications addressing the release, which involve the European Union and Portugal as well as Britain.

“But I can tell her that there is renewed energy to try to bring this matter to a head as swiftly as possible in the Foreign Office today.”

In January, the Lords committee said it was “incomprehensible” that the oligarch’s pledge to donate the money raised from the sale to victims of the conflict “remains unfulfilled” and that the Government has not yet “resolved the problems” around the frozen assets.

A charitable foundation is being established to distribute the funds but the committee’s inquiry was told the process “has reached a stalemate, with neither the Government nor those tasked with creating the foundation taking responsibility to progress the matter”.