Unlock the digestive of free editor
Roula Khalaf, the FT editor, chooses her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has pledged to take “action” that could include the beginning of a legal issue in order to liberate 2.3bn £ held by the sale of the Chelsea football club by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich more than two years ago.
The funds, which the United Kingdom Government has frozen and wants to be diverted to Ukraine, have seated on the bank account of a dedicated trust for the last two years, while talking how exactly the money should be used.
“I am frustrated that has not happened, it is the truth – and that the money must be distributed, they have to be used,” Lammy told the Financial Times in Tokyo. He said he is moving to a “action -oriented approach” to try and break down logjam.
He stressed that “his first instinct is not a litigation” because that road “requires time”, though people known to his opinion said to go to trial to resolve the case is one of the options on the table. Achieving an agreement with the foundation set to settle to handle cash remains another.
As he admitted that there are “legal complexes” about the matter, he vowed: “I am determined to see the money out of the door and do everything I can to bring it.”
The position of the United Kingdom government has been that money should be spent within Ukraine, while the MOOTED Foundation which includes the former UNICEF executive chief Mike Penrose-has been pressured for flexibility to support the war-torn refugees, people familiar with FT.
In a message on Chelsea’s website in March 2022 the same month he was sanctioned by the United Kingdom-Abramovich said the Foundation would be “for the benefit of all victims of war in Ukraine”, including “critical funds of urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting long-term healing work”.
Lammy’s intervention comes as Kyiv faces escalating pressure after the US stopped all military aid. Mentioning the “urgency of the moment” and the need to increase efforts to help Ukraine, he said: “I am looking closely at this issue.”
The Foreign Secretary also supported the idea of a new multilateral defense bank this week to help the UK and Europe finance an expansion of their defense.
The Foreign Office said: “This government is working hard to secure the revenue from the selling of Chelsea FC to achieve humanitarian causes in Ukraine as soon as possible. Income is currently frozen in a UK bank account while a new independent foundation has been established to manage and distribute the money.
“UK officials continue to develop discussions with Mr. Abramovich’s international representatives, experts and partners, and we will double our efforts to achieve a resolution.”
A representative for Abramovich did not respond immediately to the comment request.
