Boris Johnson said Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government because 'he reached a threshold' for associations with the Putin regime.
Mr Abramovich was one of seven oligarchs to be hit with fresh UK sanctions today, including asset freezes and travel bans.
The 55-year-old Russian is alleged to have strong ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he has denied.
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The move means that Chelsea FC cannot sell any more match tickets, its club shop will be closed and it will be unable to buy or sell players on the transfer market.
Speaking during a visit to Merseyside today, Mr Johnson told the ECHO that the decision to sanction Mr Abramovich came now after investigations into his links to Vladimir Putin's Russian regime which is currently invading Ukraine.
The Prime Minister said: "We've already done about 2 or 300 individuals that we sanctions and what we are adding today is more individuals who have reached the threshold, under the investigations that we have done, for their associations with the Putin regime. It's clear that they pass the test and that's why you have had the announcements today."
The government had been under pressure to take action against Mr Abramovich, with the issue raised at last week's Prime Minister's Questions by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Johnson said 'due process' had been followed, leading to the decision today.
He said: "In the UK we have ancient laws about private property and there is a strong balance of opinion if you look at English common law in favour of people's right to retain their property.
"Confiscating assets by the state is something that other countries might do more easily than we do. Now we're changing it, because we've got to take account of what's happened - so by Tuesday of next week, under the Economic Crime Bill, we will be able to go much further, much faster with people associated with the Putin regime.
"We have to do things according to due process, we have to follow the law in this country and we have been going through the rules as they currently are, we are now speeding them up."
Today's move also means that the sale of Chelsea FC, which Mr Abramovich announced earlier this month, has been stalled as it is among the assets frozen in the sanctions against him.
Mr Johnson was speaking during a visit to Cammell Lair shipyard in Birkenhead today, where he was announcing the government's £4 billion package for ship building, which it says will create tens of thousands of jobs.
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