Government prepares to sue Roman Abramovich after he missed deadline to release £2.5bn from Chelsea sale

Sanctioned former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been put on notice that legal action is coming from the UK government after failing "to do the right thing" and release the £2.5bn from the club's sale to help Ukraine.

There has been a standoff since Mr Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea in 2022 after being sanctioned at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a targeting of oligarchs.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned in December that Mr Abramovich could be sued if he does not pay up.

Now a government spokesperson has said: "We gave Roman Abramovich his last chance to do the right thing. Once again, he has failed to make the donation he committed to.

"We will now take further steps to ensure that the promise he made at the time of the Chelsea sale is kept."

The government issued a licence in December permitting the release of the cash to a new foundation for humanitarian causes in Ukraine but it required Mr Abramovich's approval which has not come.

The Russian businessman was warned at the time that if he did not do so within 90 days, the government would take him to court in the UK.

It is understood that government legal representatives wrote to Mr Abramovich's legal team on Monday saying they are now preparing possible legal action.

While Mr Abramovich has always said "all victims of the war in Ukraine", the government says it will only consider a proposal to send the cash to "the most vulnerable in Ukraine" and not potentially to Russia.

There is also a dispute over how much cash will be released to Ukrainians.

The government wants the full £2.5bn paid for the club by a consortium, including Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly.

But accounts published last week by Fordstam - Chelsea's parent company in the Abramovich ownership era - showed they only "intend" to give £987m to a charitable foundation after loans are repaid rather than the full amount demanded by the government.

Mr Abramovich's Jersey-based Camberley International Investments is owed £1.429bn from an interest-free loan previously provided to fund Chelsea's successes following his takeover in 2003.

Mr Abramovich made his billions in the post-Soviet Russian era, and has been said to be an ally to Vladimir Putin which he has denied.

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The sanctions were originally imposed by Boris Johnson's Conservative government and Labour has continued them.

Mr Abramovich's publicly-named legal team has not responded to attempts to seek comment in recent months.

There has been no attempt by the Russian to explain his position publicly.

There has also been public comment to defend his ownership of Chelsea since the Premier League ruled on Monday there were financial irregularities involved in player signings across eight years.

The case clouded the club's successes from 2011 to 2018 with more than £47m in secret payments by entities associated with Mr Abramovich paid related to transfers, including to unregistered agents.

The league decided against imposing a points deduction by saying if the payments had come from the club rather than off the books they still would have complied with financial regulations limiting losses.

But the league did not seem to consider that players including Eden Hazard and David Luiz helped them win the Premier League twice, Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup in the period investigated - provided significant financial benefits.

The players were not accused of wrongdoing and the cooperation of Abramovich's successors as owners led to the fine being reduced to £10.75m - still a league record - and one-year transfer ban only being suspended.

(c) Sky News 2026: Government prepares to sue Roman Abramovich after he missed deadline to release £2.5b