Sale of Chelsea FC will benefit Russian soldiers and their families

Roman Abramovich's pledge to donate the proceeds of the sale of Chelsea will benefit the soldiers and families of the invading Russians, it was claimed today.

The 55-year-old announced his intention to sell Chelsea on Wednesday after owning the club for 19 years in a statement that failed to denounce Vladimir Putin but suggested that any net gains would go to the Ukrainians.

But according to The Times a source close to the billionaire told them that national boundaries would play no part in deciding who to help, despite Russia being the aggressor in a war that has appalled the world in its brutality.   

It came as Mr Abramovich again avoided being sanctioned as Boris Johnson expanded the list to included mining magnate Alisher Usmanov, the former owner of Arsenal, and former Russian deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov.

Both men were hit with travel bans and an immediate freeze on their assets, which include multi-million-pound properties in London and the Home Counties. It is not clear if these mansions and flats will now be seized.

The Chelsea boss has faced calls to be sanctioned himself, but the Prime Minister has been accused of being scared of doing it. Mr Abramovich is now selling his football club and said to be trying to offload £200million of property in the capital because he is 'terrified of being sanctioned', one MP said.

While the official deadline is in a fortnight, he is said to have demanded bids for the West London football team by tomorrow amid claims he has launched a 'fire sale' to avoid having his British assets frozen.

The American-Swiss billionaire consortium of Todd Boehly and Hansjorg Wyss are said to be ready to make an offer by Sunday - but there is said to be a wrangle over the price. Abramovich is said to want £3billion to £4billion - while experts believe he'll be lucky to get £2billion given his situation.

In a statement announcing his decision to sell, Abramovich revealed this week: 'I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.

'This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.'

Abramovich's pledge was met with scepticism by UK security minister Damian Hinds, who appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday morning.

When asked by the ITV show if he understood exactly what Abramovich meant by 'net proceeds', Hinds replied: 'No, because you can define net proceeds in different ways, as any corporate financier would tell you.'

It now appears to be a little clearer as to who could benefit from the money as a key spokesperson has claimed that funds will be given to all victims of the war, regardless of their origin, according to The Guardian.

This has opened up the possibility of money going to Russian citizens and their families. 

However, uncertainty remains over the sale of Chelsea, and any subsequent donation that could be made, as it is unclear as to how much Abramovich could realistically sell the club for. 

It is understood that Abramovich is aiming to bring in as much as £4billion from the transaction.

However, financial experts have suggested that he may struggle to get more than £2bn for the west London club.

Abramovich did write in his statement on Chelsea's website: 'The sale of the Club will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process.'  

Chelsea have been assured by the Government that they can continue to operate even if Roman Abramovich is sanctioned, as negotiations over a quick sale of the club intensified yesterday.

Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and LA Dodgers owner Todd Boehly have formed a consortium who are preparing a bid for the club but are not willing to meet Abramovich’s £3billion asking price.

Abramovich rejected a £2.2bn offer from Boehly three years ago but the Russian was not an active seller at the time. He may now have to accept a lower figure due to the lack of alternative bidders and the threat of Government sanctions.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries accepted yesterday that Abramovich should be sanctioned but that could take weeks because the National Crime Agency are struggling to prove his financial connection to the Russian government.

The UK Government are nevertheless preparing legislation that would allow for the seizure of British property owned by sanctioned Russian oligarchs without paying them compensation. 

The Premier League have received reassurances that such a move would include the scope for certain properties and businesses to be exempt.

Chelsea are likely to feature on this exemption list as the Government have no desire to punish the club, while some sources are claiming that they are giving Abramovich time to sell before he is sanctioned.

Last night, the Government announced they had frozen the assets of Alisher Usmanov, the Uzbek oligarch who was linked with Everton until the club cut ties with him on Wednesday. Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has left the board of USM Holdings, the company where Usmanov was his partner.

Abramovich’s desperation to sell was made evident by his extra-ordinary public statement on Wednesday evening and apparent willingness to write off more than £1.5bn of loans to the club.

The 55-year-old may have to lower his valuation considerably however, as he has not been inundated with offers of interest from potential buyers since he instructed the Raine Group to market the club earlier this week.

Wyss and Boehly are the only publicly known bidders at this stage, with Ineos tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe ruling himself out yesterday despite having previously made a bid, and investment experts told Sportsmail that there are only a handful of individuals in the world able access the billions needed in the time-frame required. A private-equity funded corporate buy-out has been ruled out due to a lack of time, leaving Abramovich’s options limited.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters yesterday welcomed Abramovich’s decision to sell and claimed that should he accept an offer the prospective buyer could theoretically pass the infamous owners and directors’ test in a couple of weeks.

‘I think it’s the right decision,’ Masters said at the Financial Times’ Business of Sport summit. ‘The situation has escalated incredibly quickly over the last seven days and he has come to the right conclusion that it is unsustainable.

‘I think the quickest one (owners and directors test) we have ever done is 10 days. That’s not to say that record cannot be beaten. But, normally, it would take a number of weeks, and it all depends on the complexity of the deal and the number of potential owners. So, provided that the information is easily digestible, easily understandable, gives us all the right answers, it could be done relatively quickly.’

Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley, who bought into her club with an 80 per cent stake from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, questioned why Abramovich was being forced into a sale.

‘I am sad someone will have a club taken away from them because of a link they may have with someone,’ she told the summit. ‘I don’t think that is particularly fair.’

Abramovich is also facing questions about his pledge to donate the net proceeds from the sale to victims of the war in Ukraine after the Charity Commission said yesterday that it had not yet received any registration application for a new charity.

Chelsea sources told Sportsmail that net proceeds would mean everything other than sale costs such as stamp duty and legal fees, which would amount to tens of millions of pounds rather than the £1.5bn outstanding loans, but the club will have no involvement in the running of the charity and ultimately it will be a matter for Abramovich.

Damian Hinds, the security minister, said it was not clear what Abramovich meant by his pledge to donate money from the sale, while others have questioned whether the funds would go to Ukrainians or Russians, which was not addressed in his statement.

‘You can define net proceeds in different ways, as any corporate financier would tell you,’ Hinds said.

Chelsea trustees expect the plan to hand over the stewardship of the club to their charitable foundation to be abandoned.

Trustees, who showed huge reluctance towards it, remain on stand-by if the proposed sale collapses, but the stewardship plan has now been described as being ‘dead in the water’, especially as the Charities Commission would likely prevent the proposals from being actioned.

On Tuesday, Sportsmail revealed trustees would have insisted on an indemnity policy before agreeing to Abramovich’s original plans, given the responsibility of playing such a key role within a business that turned over £434.8million for the previous financial year.

Chelsea had instructed lawyers to start building the legal framework to facilitate Abramovich’s stewardship recommendation — but it is clear now that the idea is largely unworkable.

Meanwhile, financial analyst John Purcell told Sportsmail last night that any sale will likely lead to a drop in transfer spending at Chelsea, which hit £2.1bn in the 19 years of Abramovich’s reign

‘I think the business model will change,’ said Purcell. ‘I don’t think the largesse that Chelsea have displayed since Abramovich took over is going to be repeated.

‘He transformed the Premier League and English football — not necessarily for the better. Everyone else has tried to compete, it’s attracted big money, it’s generated big money, it’s a very rich league. But the losses are getting bigger and bigger.

‘So whatever the purchase price, the new owners will have to fund it on an ongoing basis. Are they going to do it at Abramovich levels? Highly unlikely.’

Ministers have finally cracked down on oligarchs as Uzbekistan-born Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and ex-Kremlin deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov are the latest targets of sanctions by the British government – as Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich sells off his assets.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has sanctioned Mr Usmanov, who has a £60 million home in Surrey and  whose commercial links to Everton football club have been suspended, and Mr Shuvalov.

Mr Shuvalov owns a £11.4million London flat overlooking the Ministry of Defence and he reportedly used a £38million private jet to fly his wife's corgis to dog shows across Europe, including one in Windsor, but denies there is anything improper or illegal about his business activities.

The pair, who are worth a combined £14 billion and have 'significant interests in the UK and close links to the Kremlin', are 'sanctioned with immediate effect', the Foreign Office said. 

They face a full asset freeze and a travel ban, with Ms Truss saying that the sanctions send a 'clear message that we will hit oligarchs and individuals closely associated with the Putin regime'.

The two Putin associates are also now cut off from their significant UK interests including mansions worth tens of millions and no British citizen or business can deal with them. 

The UK has been targeting Russian oligarchs since Moscow's invasion, with Mr Usmanov and Mr Shuvalov added to the list, there is now 15 Putin associates sanctioned.  

After the Foreign Office faced accusations it 'dropped the ball' and failed to build legally-sound cases before it made this move, the department will now set up a Oligarch Taskforce of Ministers and officials to further target Russian interests in the UK. 

Boris Johnson was today under huge pressure to go faster in targeting Russian oligarchs after it was claimed Britain will not sanction Roman Abramovich and others for 'weeks or months' - if at all. 

The PM said after the new sanctions, 'for as long as Putin continues his barbaric attack on innocent Ukrainians we will continue to exert every power we have to inflict maximum economic pain on Putin and his war machine.'

Roman Abramovich has put Chelsea up for sale for £3billion having already lined up a bid led by a Swiss billionaire and is also said to be getting rid of £200million of palatial London property because he is allegedly 'terrified of being sanctioned'. He is said to have demanded bids for the West London football team by tomorrow amid claims he has launched a 'fire sale' to avoid having his British assets frozen.

Yesterday French authorities seized a yacht they linked to Rosneft chairman Igor Sechin - a close ally of the Russian President - in the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat close to Marseille. Oil baron Sechin is Putin's close friend and de facto deputy - nicknamed Darth Vader due to his fearsome power in Russia having started as Putin's secretary in 1994. He is already subject to a travel ban and asset freeze by the US.

On Wednesday EU-sanctioned Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, the former owner of Arsenal who lives in a £50m Surrey mansion, had his $600million megayacht Dilbar, described as his most prized possession, seized by the Germans in Hamburg yesterday as EU sanctions bit the oligarchs, Forbes reported. But the port authorities in Hamburg denied this today.

Mr Usmanov, worth £13.4billion, has been sanctioned by Brussels along with Mikhail Fridman, worth £10.4billion, Igor Shuvalov, worth £200million and Andrey Kostin, worth £375million - but despite all these men having UK assets or strong links to Britain, Boris Johnson has followed suit only with Mr Usmanov and Mr Shuvalov.  

The U.S. also today put full blocking sanctions on Mr Shuvalov, his five companies, his wife Olga, his son Evgeny and his company and jet, and his daughter Maria and her company and Mr Usmanov along with his superyacht and his private jet, one of Russia’s largest privately-owned aircraft. 

It also sanctioned Boris Rotenberg, who has already been sanctioned in the UK, and his wife Karina, and his sons Roman and Boris.  

Oleg Deripaska, who is worth £3.2billion and owns 45% of the aluminium company EN+, listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2017, has also faced calls for sanctions due to the industrialist's close ties to President Putin.

Labour MP Chris Bryant, who has been particularly critical of the decision not to sanction Mr Abramovich claiming Boris Johnson is 'frightened', said today: 'I don't understand why we haven't seized a single Putin oligarch yacht, palace or serious asset yet. Unlike our European neighbours'. He added: 'Auction houses, including Christie's and Sotheby's, are likely see some very valuable assets being traded by Putin supporters. They should refuse to handle

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