UK freezes Chelsea FC owner’s assets, places on travel ban

Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government.

Abramovich’s assets have been frozen while he has been slammed with travel ban.

These are parts of UK’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Chelsea owner is one of seven oligarchs to be hit with fresh sanctions.

The list also includes billionaires Igor Sechin and Oleg Deripaska, both seen as allies of Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “there can be no safe havens” for those who have supported the invasion.

“Today’s sanctions are the latest step in the UK’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people,” Johnson said.

“We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies.”

There have been clamours for sanction against Abramovich, who said he had made the “difficult decision” to sell Chelsea FC earlier this month.

The football club is among the assets frozen as part of the sanctions against Abramovich and its sale has now been stalled.

The government said it would issue a special licence that allows fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches.

However, the club cannot sell any more tickets for games, its merchandise shop will be closed, and it will be unable to buy or sell players on the transfer market.

Abramovich, 55, is alleged to have strong ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he has denied.

The government says Abramovich, who has an estimated net worth of £9.4 billion, is “one of the few oligarchs from the 1990s to maintain prominence under Putin”.

Abramovich has stakes in steel giant Evraz and Norilsk Nickel. He sold a 73% stake in Russian oil firm Sibneft to state-owned gas titan Gazprom for £9.87 billion in 2005.

The Star