Russian businessman Roman Abramovich refuses to sign an order to transfer funds from the sale of the British football club Chelsea to Ukraine, the Daily Mail newspaper writes, citing sources in the British Foreign Office.
According to the publication, Abramovich wants a significant part of the money to go to the Russians affected by the conflict. However, neither London nor the European Commission will agree to this as long as the sanctions imposed in response to the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine are in effect, the Foreign Office interlocutors said.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said last week that he could not guarantee funds would be disbursed before the government’s summer break in July, the sources said. “We want to be sure that the released money goes exclusively to the recipients for whom it is intended. I need complete confidence that this is so, ”the Daily Mail quotes him as saying.
A newspaper source close to Abramovich’s charitable foundation said: “We hoped that the money would be transferred last summer, then we hoped for developments in January. We now hope that the money will start flowing to Ukraine before severe winter conditions return by the end of the year, but at this time there is no guarantee that this will happen.”
The Telegraph previously wrote that funds from the sale of Chelsea remain in “suspended condition” as the EU and the UK cannot agree on how best to spend them. The newspaper recalled that Abramovich, when selling the club, agreed with the British authorities that the money would go to help “all victims of the conflict in Ukraine.”
Source: Rosbalt
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