Chelsea news : Why Roman Abramovich is under investigation in British crown dependency - and what Chelsea has to do with It

The latest financial accounts of Fordstam Ltd, the UK-registered company linked to Roman Abramovich, have shed new light on the money generated from the sale of Chelsea in 2022 — and help explain why his pledge to donate the funds to victims of the war in Ukraine remains mired in uncertainty.

According to documents filed with Companies House, the British government agency that maintains records of registered companies, the net profit from the sale of the club was calculated at £987m. That is the sum Abramovich would be obliged to transfer to a charitable foundation.

The figure is, however, significantly lower than the total value of the Chelsea sale, which amounted to £2.35bn. The difference arises because £1.4bn of the total is tied to Camberley International Investments, a company registered in Jersey — a British Crown Dependency — and linked to the Russian billionaire.

Abramovich's pledge after the Chelsea sale

When he announced the sale of the club in May 2022, Abramovich stated on Chelsea's official website that all net proceeds from the transaction would be donated to help victims of the war caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The sale followed the UK government's decision to sanction Abramovich in response to that invasion, which compelled him to relinquish ownership of the Premier League club.

The most recent accounts suggest, however, that the amount ultimately available to the foundation could be considerably smaller than initially anticipated, and it remains unclear how much money will eventually be released.

The situation has taken a further turn after Abramovich's lawyers sent a letter to the British government asserting that the proceeds from the sale belong entirely to him and warning that he would contest any attempt to confiscate the funds. The letter stated: "It is important to emphasise that the funds — although currently frozen — remain the property of Fordstam Limited, which is wholly owned by Mr Abramovich. Should the UK government believe it has the legal basis to confiscate these funds instead, it is of course open to initiate formal confiscation proceedings, which will be contested in court."

Roman Abramovich: The investigation that has left billions frozen

At the centre of the dispute is a criminal investigation conducted by the government of Jersey. Just weeks after the start of the war in Ukraine, in March 2022, the island's government — which operates independently of the United Kingdom — also imposed sanctions on Abramovich.

Authorities subsequently launched an investigation to determine whether certain assets linked to the billionaire could constitute proceeds of criminal activity, as part of a potential money laundering inquiry.

As part of the process, the Royal Court of Jersey was asked to grant a legal order known as a saisie judiciaire — a form of judicial asset seizure. The court approved the measure and ordered the freezing of more than $7bn in assets associated with Abramovich or companies linked to him in Jersey.

Among those companies is Camberley International Investments, which provided a £1.4bn loan to Chelsea during the period when Abramovich owned the club. In practice, this means that portion of the Chelsea sale proceeds remains frozen until the investigation is concluded.

Abramovich denies any wrongdoing. In the letter sent to the British government, his legal team insisted that he rejected the allegations "in the strongest possible terms" and considered the investigation to have been initiated for political reasons.

His lawyers have also launched legal proceedings against the Jersey government, accusing local authorities of conspiracy and misconduct in public office.

In one notable development during the process, a Jersey court judge ruled that police searches carried out on properties linked to Abramovich had been unlawful and had violated his data protection rights.

That ruling obliged island authorities to hand over private messages, emails and other documents related to the investigation. Despite this, attempts by the defence to have the case dismissed or the frozen assets released have been rejected.

The Jersey government, for its part, has stated that it categorically rejects the accusations of conspiracy or bad faith and will continue to defend its position through the courts.

For now, the future of the money remains unresolved. Four years on from the sanctions imposed on Abramovich, the investigation is ongoing and no formal charges have been brought against the 59-year-old.

In the meantime, billions of dollars remain frozen — and until the matter is settled, it remains equally uncertain how much of the Chelsea sale proceeds will ever reach the victims of the war in Ukraine.