UK officials have held just four meetings with Roman Abramovich or his representatives in the past 20 months as they struggle to force the billionaire to release the £2.5bn proceeds of the Chelsea sale to aid Ukrainian victims of Russia’s war.
The lack of engagement has emerged after a series of emails between Government officials and Abramovich’s representatives were released to The i Paper following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK Government in March 2022 for alleged ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin – which the oligarch denies – eight days after he put Chelsea, a club he transformed into one of the most successful in world football, up for sale.
Abramovich was granted a special licence to sell the club he bought in 2003 and, unable to benefit from the profits, promised to give the proceeds away. But a conflict arose when he announced in a statement the funds would be “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”, rather than only Ukrainians.
Over the past six months, The i Paper has attempted to uncover why more than three years later the funds remain untouched in a frozen UK bank account.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has released to us heavily redacted communications regarding Abramovich and the Chelsea proceeds, insisting they are a matter of “national security” and that disclosing more detail would impact the country’s ability to work with other governments.
“Having reviewed the requested material, we are concerned that its release would adversely impact on the UK’s security,” the Information Rights Unit, a department of the FCDO, wrote in a letter to The i Paper.
“The disclosure of this document would prejudice the UK’s relations with other states, the interests of the UK abroad, and the ability of the UK to promote and protect those interests.”
Asked for any emails and meeting minutes involving the FCDO and Abramovich or his representatives since January 2024, the FCDO provided 13 pages with 185 redactions.
As far as can be ascertained, only five of the emails, in almost two years, are from Abramovich or his representatives. One meeting lasted, according to the emails, just 30 minutes.
The most recent meeting, according to the documents disclosed, took place at 3.30pm on 13 March this year, at the FCDO’s main King Charles Street office in London. Stephen Doughty, the minister of state for Europe and North America, was present along with two people, whose names are redacted, relating to Abramovich.
A member of the Norwegian Refugee Council, an independent humanitarian aid organisation that helps children and young people forced to flee, also attended, accorded to the emails.
A timeline of the meetings
18 January, 2024: Nick Dyer, the FCDO Second Permanent Under-Secretary, has a call with an Abramovich representative.
4 April, 2024: Dyer holds a meeting with somebody relating to Abramovich “which Ros Eales and [Redacted] also joined”, an email states. Eales, who worked in the Department for International Development up to October 2020, is currently chief operating officer for COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference.
29 April, 2025: Dyer holds a meeting with a representative of Abramovich between 2.30pm and 3pm.
13 March, 2025: Stephen Doughty, the minister of state for Europe and North America, meets with two unnamed Abramovich aides at 3.30pm at the FCDO’s main King Charles Street offices. A representative from the Norwegian Refugee Council also attends.
Another meeting was held between 2.30pm and 3pm on 29 April this year, between either Abramovich or an aide and Nick Dyer, the FCO Second Permanent Under-Secretary – or “2PUS” as he is referred.
Before this, according to the available material provided, there was a gap of more than a year where no meetings or discussions took place via email.
The previous meeting was held on 4 April, 2024, between Abramovich or a representative and Dyer. “Ros Eales and [Redacted] also joined,” an email states. Eales, who worked in the Department for International Development up to October 2020, is currently chief operating officer for COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference.
The only other meeting disclosed in the period was a call between Dyer and either Abramovich or his representative on 18 January, 2024.
The emails often include discussions around the secrecy of meetings.
From one call involving Dyer on the matter, the notes are heavily redacted but include Dyer stating: “I stressed that we can’t discuss any options, [Redacted].
“Comment: [Redacted] I managed his expectations down.
“Next step: where we are with [Redacted].”
Details of one meeting are entirely withheld, including 42 redactions running to almost four pages.
Indeed, the secretive disclosures still only sketch an outline of what has happened behind the scenes.
Abramovich released a statement when he confirmed Chelsea was for sale, stating that he had set up a charitable foundation for the proceeds.
“The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine,” he said.
“This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.”
Three-and-a-half years later, however, the funds are yet to be released to meet the urgent needs.
Patience has grown so thin that in June, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy released a joint statement declaring: “While the door for negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to pursue this through the courts if required.”
They added: “The Government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine, following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion. We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far”.
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The FCDO insisted that the FOI query does not include all of the FCDO’s activity relating to the proceeds of the Chelsea sale.
The proceeds frozen in a bank account cannot be moved or used without a licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation and the UK Government remains adamant that proceeds will only be used for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine.
A FCDO spokesperson told The i Paper: “The Government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine, following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion.
“We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far.
“While the door for negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to pursue this through the courts if required, to ensure people suffering in Ukraine can benefit from these proceeds as soon as possible.”
A representative of Abramovich did not respond to a request for comment.
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