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Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich arrives at a division of the High Court in central London October 31, 2011.
Britain on Wednesday said it was giving Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich a final chance to pay 2.5 billion pounds ($3.33 billion) sale of Chelsea Football Club to Ukraine, otherwise it would be ready to take him to court.
Britain sanctioned Abramovich in a crackdown on Russian oligarchs after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, triggering a rushed sale of the Premier League club and freezing of the proceeds.
Britain wants the funds spent only in Ukraine in line with a wider European push for Moscow to foot the bill for the deaths and destruction triggered by its invasion. Abramovich has previously sought more flexibility and wants the money to go to all victims.
Should the Russian businessman fail to free the funds quickly, the government said in a statement that it was “fully prepared to take him to court if necessary to enforce the agreement reached with him in 2022”.
“It’s unacceptable that more than 2.5 billion pounds of money owed to the Ukrainian people can be allowed to remain frozen in a UK bank account,” finance minister Rachel Reeves said in the statement.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain would issue a licence to release the funds.
