Roman Abramovich to sell Chelsea Football Club
RUSSIAN OLIGARCH Roman Abramovich said this week that he was planning to sell Chelsea Football Club and donate the proceeds to victims of the war in Ukraine.
The statement came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced growing pressure to sanction the Russian billionaire as part of measures targeting the Russian state and wealthy individuals.
In a statement on the club’s website, Mr Abramovich (below left) said it was an “incredibly difficult decision to make”, which “pained” him. He is intending to write off the £1.5 billion debt he is owed from it, he added.
The billionaire is also reportedly beginning a “fire sale” of his sprawling London property portfolio.
Meanwhile, Mr Abramovich’s daughter, Sofia, reportedly added her voice to global condemnations of Putin.
The Evening Standard reported that Sofia, 27, had shared an image on Instagram that read: “Russia wants a war with Ukraine”, with the word Russia crossed out to read “Putin”.
It went on: “The biggest and most successful lie of Kremlin’s propaganda is that most Russians stand with Putin”.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Mr Abramovich flew to Belarus last week to help orchestrate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine at the request of Kyiv.
MailOnline reported on Wednesday that another Russian billionaire — Mikhail Fridman — stepped down from the board of the firm that owns UK company Holland & Barrett. The website reported he was still a shareholder of the company, called LetterOne.
Mr Fridman (below right) also spoke out against sanctions imposed by the EU on Monday against him and long-term business partner Petr Aven.
His office said in a statement: “These are malicious and deliberate lies – pure and simple, the product of historical fantasies and conspiracy theories dreamt up by individuals with their own agendas. It is deeply distressing to Mr Fridman and Mr Aven that the EU Council would accept them.”