Britain threatens legal sanctions against Abramovich's frozen billions following Chelsea sale.

The British government is trying to negotiate with the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club, to allocate the proceeds from the sale of the club to humanitarian causes in Ukraine following the illegal Russian invasion. Abramovich has so far firmly rejected this decision. The British government has threatened legal action against Abramovich to release £2.5 billion ($4.3 billion) from the club sale to aid Ukraine war victims. Chelsea FC was sold in May 2022 after Abramovich, among other Russian businessmen, faced sanctions following Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Rachel Reeves, the UK's finance minister, and David Lammy, the foreign minister, expressed "frustration" at not reaching an agreement with Abramovich regarding the frozen sale proceeds.