Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and six other Russian oligarchs were on Thursday accused of having blood “on their hands” as they became the latest tycoons to be sanctioned for links to Vladimir Putin’s regime.
The billionaire businessman, who has owned the Premier League club since 2003, was one of seven more oligarchs to be targeted by Britain in what the Government said was a “£15 billion sanctions hit”, with his assets frozen and a UK travel ban imposed.
Targeting the Kremlin-linked individuals, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands. They should hang their heads in shame.” Also among those sanctioned is Oleg Deripaska, who was Abramovich’s one-time business partner. The move leaves the future of Chelsea shrouded in uncertainty with Abramovich now barred from selling the club.
Although Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said a special licence would be granted to allow it to continue to operate, this would not permit the sale going through at this time. Downing Street later indicated a new licence could be granted to the club by the Treasury to facilitate its sale.
The club will still be able to play fixtures and pay staff, but trading in players seems to be off the table. Season ticket holders can still attend games but the club cannot now sell any more tickets for games.
Following the announcement, telecommunications firm Three said it was reviewing its £40m a year shirt sponsorship deal with Chelsea.
Ms Dorries said the aim was to ensure that Abramovich cannot “benefit from his ownership of the club”. They tycoon, 55, is worth more than £9 billion and is alleged to have strong ties to President Putin, which he has denied. As well as Abramovich, the Government also announced sanctions against billionaire oil magnate Deripaska, chief executive of Russian energy giant Rosneft, Igor Sechin, chairman of VTB bank Andrey Kostin and Alexei Miller, head of Gazprom.
It came as Western officials believe the tough economic measures taken against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine are starting to bite. The rouble’s value has plunged while credit ratings agency Fitch has warned that Russia could default on its debt. Earlier this week the United States, UK and EU stepped up the pressure by announcing plans to phase out the use of Russian oil and gas.
Boris Johnson’s Government has nevertheless faced criticism for failing to act quickly enough to crack down on Russian oligarchs with close ties to the Putin regime. While the US and EU have identified dozens of wealthy Russian business figures, Ms Truss has admitted that the UK’s higher legal threshold for imposing sanctions has slowed down the process.
Thursday’s move takes the number of individuals sanctioned by the Government since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to 22. Abramovich and the six other oligarchs will be banned from travelling to Britain while no UK citizen or company will be able to do business with them.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich’s daughter Sofia, 27, inset, shared an anti-Putin meme on social media.
Bidders for Chelsea had opened talks with Abramovich’s advisers over the past few days with property billionaire Nick Candy among those said to be preparing an offer for the club, valued at as much as £4 billion.
Mr Johnson said: “There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine.”
