- The Todd Boehly led £4.25billion takeover of Chelsea was completed last May
- Significant funds from Roman Abramovich’s sale were pledged to help Ukraine
- The head of the charitable foundation has confirmed the funds remain frozen
Billions of pounds from the sale of Chelsea are still yet to be transferred to a foundation being established to provide Ukraine with aid, nearly a year on from the club’s takeover.
The Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium completed the £4.25billion takeover of Chelsea at the end of May last year, ending Roman Abramovich’s 19-year ownership of the Premier League club.
Abramovich had put Chelsea up for the sale as a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the oligarch then being sanctioned by the UK Government over his alleged links to Vladimir Putin.
Funds from the sale were deposited into a frozen bank account to ensure Abramovich did not receive any proceeds of the sale, with a newly established foundation set to receive £2.34 billion of the proceeds.
Mike Penrose, the former Unicef UK chief executive, told Bloomberg that the funds are still yet to be received nearly a year on.
Penrose said political approval still needed to be granted in the UK and European Union, with the organisation holding off on naming its board until the funds are transferred.
‘We’re ready to go and we’re just waiting for approval,’ said Penrose, who is the acting CEO of the foundation.
‘There are complexities and delays based around political approval both between the UK and the EU and within the UK.
‘We aren’t going to make any decisions until we know the money’s coming We don’t want to end up with a charity but no money.’
Penrose said the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Secretary General Jan Egeland has been proposed as the chairman of the foundation, with investment managers shortlisted to oversee how the funds will be utilised.
Labour MP Chris Bryant questioned the Foreign Office in November over the delay to the funds being released to the foundation.
Foreign Office minister Leo Docherty responded by saying: ‘It is still frozen in the UK bank account. The administrative work is being done and a licence is being applied for, but we hope it is on the start of its journey to Ukraine to help the people where they need help.’
The Telegraph reported in January that the release of funds from the Government was ‘potentially weeks away, but required approval from the EU due to Abramovich being subject to sanctions.
The EU has reportedly provided ‘legal clarity’ on how its sanctions work with ‘no further work expected to be needed from their side’.
The foundation is expected to focus on humanitarian projects in Ukraine once the funds are transferred and the organisation is granted a licence.
Chelsea last month reportedly agreed to hosting an all-star style fundraising match in aid of Oleksandr Zinchenko’s charity Football for Ukraine this summer, which will raise money for Ukrainian refugees and to rebuild key facilities in the country.
Mykhailo Mudryk, one of the Blues big-money January signings, is expected to feature in the match.
A total of £20.5m of Murdyk’s £88m transfer fee was donated by his former club Shakhtar Donetsk to support soldiers and their families, while Chelsea reportedly agreed to participate in a friendly in a ‘Ukrainian Donetsk’ as part of the deal.
