Money from Roman Abramovich's Chelsea sale 'on its journey' to help Ukraine, minister claims
- Chelsea sold by Abramovich in May
- Sanctions were placed on club and former owner
- Funds raised pledged to support Ukrainian people
WHAT HAPPENED? Russian oligarch Abramovich sold Chelsea to a consortium led by Todd Boehly for a fee of £4.25 billion back in May of 2022, with the funds raised from the sale pledged to go to helping provide relief to Ukraine amid their war with Russia. MP Chris Bryant asked what the latest was with supplying the country with the funds, to which Docherty was able to offer an update on.
WHAT HE SAID: At Foreign Office questions, Bryant asked: "Chelsea was sold for £3.5billion many months ago. Has that money yet got to Ukraine? And if not, why not?"
Docherty responded with: "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 BIGGER PICTURE: Abramovich sold Chelsea earlier in the year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, amid sanctions being placed on oligarchs and Russian business outlets like himself. The funding raised from the sale was to be held in a UK government account, before being released to help Ukraine in some capacity, but the process of doing so has not proven straightforward.
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WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA? The quick decision to sell the club amid sanctions being placed on Chelsea resulted in a hectic first half of 2022, but the club has now moved forward under the new ownership led by Boehly.