Chelsea billions trapped as businessman Roman Abramovich prepares a high stakes legal showdown

A deal that came with conditions

When Roman Abramovich sold Chelsea FC in May 2022 for roughly 4.25 billion pounds, the transaction was approved only after direct intervention by the British government. As part of that approval, Abramovich agreed that his personal proceeds from the sale would not be kept by him.

Instead, 2.35 billion pounds were designated for humanitarian assistance to people affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to British government statements at the time, this commitment was a non negotiable condition for allowing the sale to proceed.

Nearly three years later, those funds have still not reached their intended recipients.

Why the money never moved

According to reporting by sportowefakty.wp.pl, including The Telegraph, the obstacle has never been political intent but legal mechanics.

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The sale proceeds were placed in Fordstam Ltd, a UK registered company controlled by Abramovich. However, Fordstam carries approximately 1.5 billion pounds in debt to its parent company, Camberley International Investments.

Camberley is registered on Jersey, a self governing jurisdiction linked to the United Kingdom but operating under its own legal and tax framework. That jurisdictional separation has become central to the dispute.

Jersey’s intervention and frozen assets

In 2022, authorities on Jersey froze assets belonging to companies linked to Abramovich, with an estimated value of around 7 billion US dollars, according to official statements. The freeze was connected to a criminal investigation, although details of that case have not been made public.

The UK government maintains that the asset freeze does not legally prevent the transfer of Chelsea related funds to Ukraine. Officials in London point to an existing humanitarian licence that they argue permits the transaction to go ahead.

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer has publicly urged Abramovich to release the money, emphasizing that the humanitarian commitment remains valid regardless of the parallel legal proceedings.

Abramovich’s legal counteroffensive

Abramovich disputes that interpretation. He argues that as long as his associated assets on Jersey remain frozen, releasing the Chelsea funds could expose him to legal risk.

According to The Telegraph, Abramovich has now assembled a team of high profile lawyers to challenge the Jersey authorities directly. The legal group reportedly includes Eric Herschmann, a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, and David Wolfson, a Conservative peer in the House of Lords.

Their strategy focuses less on sanctions policy and more on how Jersey’s government handled sensitive records tied to Abramovich’s case.

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Court findings that changed little

Abramovich’s legal action followed the discovery that certain government documents related to the investigation had been lost or deleted.

David Michael Cadin, a senior judicial figure in Jersey’s Royal Court, ruled that the island’s authorities failed to meet their legal obligations in preserving those records. The court found that this failure amounted to a breach of Abramovich’s rights.

Despite that ruling, the asset freeze remains in place. The funds linked to the Chelsea sale are still inaccessible, and no timetable has been set for their release to humanitarian organizations.

A standoff with humanitarian consequences

As the legal battle drags on, the money intended for Ukraine remains locked in legal limbo. What began as a football sale tied to wartime sanctions has evolved into a complex confrontation between jurisdictions, governments, and courts.

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For now, the outcome rests not on political declarations but on legal decisions still unfolding on the island of Jersey.

Sources: The Telegraph, British government statements, UK media reports

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