Permission to transfer £2.5 billion from frozen assets derived from the sale of football club Chelsea by Roman Abramovich to Ukraine has been issued by Keir Starmer. “Pay now” was the message from the British Prime Minister to Abramovich, warning the Russian former owner that his government is ready to take him to court if he fails to pay the funds.
Starmer to Abramovich: Time is running out, pay now
Specifically, Starmer stated during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday: “My message to Abramovich is… time is running out, honor the commitment you made and pay now.” “If you don’t, we are ready to go to court, so that every penny reaches those whose lives have been destroyed by Putin’s illegal war,” he added.
It should be noted that Abramovich came under pressure from the UK government in 2022 to sell the club following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The license granted to him to proceed with the sale of the club was conditional on neither he nor persons connected to him benefiting from it. Indeed, following sanctions imposed by the British government on Abramovich due to his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the proceeds of several billion pounds remain “frozen” in a UK bank account since the completion of the sale.
