Roman Abramovich defies UK government as he refuses to sanction £2.35bn Ukraine donation

Martin Macdonald

• 10 Mar 2026 07:01 CDT
• 5 min read

News

Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is refusing to play ball with the British government over a demand that he donate the proceeds of his sale of the club to a charity of their choosing.

The Russian bought Chelsea in 2003 and set about instigating a spending spree the likes of which the sport had never seen before.

His tenure coincided with the club's most successful period in its history as the Blues won a flurry of trophies, including numerous Premier League titles as well as the holy grail - the Champions League.

In 2022, he was forced to sell Chelsea to Clearlake Capital due to his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was sanctioned by the UK government who deemed him unsuitable to be a director of a Premier League club.

Since leaving Chelsea, Abramovich has avoided the public eye and is largely in exile.

The £2.35billion he received from the sale is frozen in the bank account of Fordstam Ltd, the former parent company of Chelsea, which he owns. The government have demaned that these funds be sent to the Ukrainian victims in the war with Russia.

Abramovich, however, wants the funds to be used to benefit all victims, including Russians.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has set a deadline of March 17 for the funds to be released.

"Strangely, the UK government appears to be treating this proposed donation as a form of punitive measure against Mr Abramovich," the letter from his legal team reads, as seen by TalkSPORT.

"This is fundamentally incorrect. It is important to emphasise that the funds — although currently frozen — remain the property of Fordstam Limited, which is wholly owned by Mr Abramovich.

"Should the UK government believe it has the legal basis to confiscate these funds instead, it is of course open to initiate formal confiscation proceedings, which will be contested in court.

“Mr Abramovich denies the allegations in the strongest possible terms and has challenged the investigation, which he contends has been launched for improper political motives, and is currently engaged in related litigation against the Jersey government for unlawful means conspiracy and misfeasance in public office as a result of its conduct.”

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper released a statement in response to the letter from Abramovich's defence: "This money was promised to Ukraine over three years ago.

"It is time Roman Abramovich does the right thing, but if he won’t we will act. That’s why the licence has been issued. It is time this money was used to rebuild the lives of people who’ve seen devastation as a result of Putin’s illegal war.”

Confusion over the size of donation

It was previously thought that full amount would eventually be given to charity, but it has now been revealed that only net profits will be gifted, as loans need to be repaid.

The Fordstam accounts, signed October 10, 2025, state: “The intention of the owner of Fordstam limited, Roman Abramovich, as announced in a public statement, is for the company to gift the net proceeds of sale, after allowing for other balance sheet items, to a charitable foundation set up to benefit those who have suffered due to the war in Ukraine.

“Once this is done and all balance sheet items cleared then the intention is to liquidate the company.”

Once the balance sheet has been cleared, that will leave around £923 million to be sent to the designated charity, much less than half of the sale proceeds.

No funds can be paid from Fordstam’s accounts to settle the loans or to the charity until the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) grants a licence.

In order for the full amount to be paid to the charity, Abramovich would need to write off the loans he initially gave to Fordstam to fund the purchase of Chelsea back in 2003.

£1.429billion is owed to Camberley International Investments Limited, the Jersey-registered company owned by Abramovich.

Kieran Maguire, a football finance expert at the University of Liverpool, told The Times:

“The expectation that the full proceeds of the sale of Chelsea would go to the victims of the Ukraine war appear to have been overplayed. The slow progress in distributing the money, partially due to queries raised by parties connected to Abramovich, and the loans repayable to his offshore funding company, could result in a much smaller than anticipated distribution, assuming that one is finally made.”

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