Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been officially sanctioned by the EU due to the oligarch’s “long and close ties to Vladimir Putin ”.
The West London club are desperate to secure a new owner amid a budget crisis, with their funds dictated by the British government in the wake of the UK sanctions imposed on club owner Abramovich. Those sanctions have now been followed by the EU, which means that his assets that are in EU territory could be taken and frozen.
The billionaire has had his assets frozen in the UK in the wake of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, although he continues to deny any links to president Putin. On Saturday, the Premier League confirmed they had suspended Abramovich as director of the club.
A statement from the EU on Tuesday read: "Roman Abramovich is a Russian oligarch who has long and close ties to Vladimir Putin. He has had privileged access to the president, and has maintained very good relations with him. This connection with the Russian leader helped him to maintain his considerable wealth. He is a major shareholder of the steel group Evraz, which is one of Russia ’s largest taxpayers.
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"He has therefore been benefitting from Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea or the destabilisation of Ukraine. He is also one of the leading Russian businesspersons involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine."
Russian billionaires have faced sanctions, frozen state assets and have been cut off much of the Russian corporate sector from the global economy as they attempt to force Russian President Putin to change course on his invasion on Ukraine.
The EU are also planning extra restrictions on importing steel, with Abramovich the largest shareholder for steel-mining business Evraz Plc. Evraz have released a statement claiming the business does not consider Abramovich - who has a 28.6% stake in the company - to be “a person exercising the effective control” of the company and said that sanctions applied by the UK and Canada don’t apply to the company itself.
Chelsea are desperate to secure new ownership as soon as possible as they continue to feel the impact of the UK government’s sanctions on Abramovich’s assets. Barclays have also suspended the club's bank account and there's a possibility the Blues could face financial armageddon between now and the summer due to the precarious situation.
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