Beleaguered Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is officially selling Chelsea Football Club as pressure on him grew after the invasion of Ukraine has ramped up calls to place him on a list of sanctions.
"In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the Club, as I believe this is in the best interest of the Club, the fans, the employees, as well as the Club’s sponsors and partners," Abramovich said in a stat
Abramovich bought Chelsea's crown jewel club for $187.31 million in 2003 but has primarily managed its finances through a separate company, Fordstam Limited, which he also owns.
But after Labour's Sir Keir Starmer targeted Abramovich and his ownership of the club during Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, tensions came to a head and a sale was announced shortly thereafter
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How Can a Sanctioned Russian Earn Money From a Sale?
The club's latest financial statement shows that Abramovich still is owed $2.03 billion in loans from Fordstam, but his potentially looming sanctioned status puts the payout of that money in jeopardy.
Abramovich reportedly transferred the "stewardship and care" of Chelsea FC to the club's charitable foundation last weekend, but the group has said it is taking legal advice to parse how qualified a charitable institution is to oversee an athletic organization.
Whether those assets will be frozen if Abramovich is eventually sanctioned is also up in the air, given the appearance of multiple well-connected Russians on sanction lists from the U.S., the U.K. and the European Union.
The club did not respond to a request for comment.
"The sale of the Club will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process. I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid. This has never been about business nor money for me, but about pure passion for the game and Club," Abramovich said in a statement.
"Moreover, I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine," he said.
"This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery."
So What Did Parliament Say?
Starmer did not mince words in the House of Commons when it came to having a potentially sanctioned oligarch owning a beloved British soccer club.
"Roman Abramovich is the owner of Chelsea Football Club and various other high-value assets in the United Kingdom," Starmer said.
"He is a person of interest to the Home Office because of his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices," he said.
"Last week [U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson] said Abramovich was facing sanctions. He later corrected the record to say he isn't. Well, why on Earth isn't he?"
Wondering who else made the list of Russians hit with sanctions? TheStreet has you covered.
