Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Club has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom (UK) government, this sanction will halt the sale of the club as his assets have now been frozen.
UK’s finance ministry via a statement said the restrictions “apply to any entities that are owned or controlled by Roman Abramovich”, adding: “This means Chelsea Football Club is now also subject to an asset freeze under UK financial sanctions.”
Implications of the restrictions
- The owner of Chelsea FC has his assets frozen, a prohibition on transactions with UK individuals and businesses, a travel ban and transport sanctions imposed
- Abramovich’s one-time business partner, leading industrialist Oleg Deripaska, also sanctioned with the same measures
- Putin’s right-hand man Igor Sechin and 4 more of Putin’s inner circle targeted with asset freeze and travel ban
- Economic Crime Bill coming into force next week will allow UK Government to move further and faster than ever on sanctions
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has today (Thursday 10 March) announced a full asset freeze and travel ban on seven of Russia’s wealthiest and most influential oligarchs, whose business empires, wealth and connections are closely associated with the Kremlin.
BizWatch Nigeria recalls that Abramovich put Chelsea club up for sale on March 2 but this is now on hold due to the sanctioning.
The club has been given a special licence to continue with football-related activities but the sale effectively bars the sale of the club following Roman Abramovich’s sanctioning.
The statement said “Given the significant impact that today’s sanctions would have on Chelsea football club and the potential knock-on effects of this, the Government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea.
