Since March, the UK government has sanctioned Roman Abramovich, and the club has been placed up for sale.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Chelsea is set to be taken over by a group led by American billionaire Todd Boehly by the end of this month for £4.25 billion.
However, a government official alleges that the £1.6 billion debt owed by Chelsea’s parent company Fordstam Limited to Camberley International Investments, a Jersey-registered account with ties to Abramovich, is causing alarm.
Last week, Abramovich issued a statement asserting that rumors that he wished to repay the £1.6 billion loan were false.
However, according to a government source, Roman Abramovich is delaying taking the necessary legal measures.
“The government is quite concerned that the arrangement will come apart and that Roman Abramovich would eventually be ready to let Chelsea fail,” a government source said.
“The difference between what Abramovich has said publicly and what he’s ready to commit to legally as part of the selling process has alarmed the authorities.”
“There are important deadlines this week, and if there isn’t a breakthrough, we’re worried that the sale of Chelsea will be pushed back by sports deadlines.’
“Two key sticking issues remain – where exactly the proceeds of the sale will be housed, and what legal guarantees government will be provided about the money going to good causes,” a Whitehall official told the BBC.
“Essentially, despite publicly pledging that all proceeds would go to good causes, Abramovich appears unwilling to make the same legal commitments, which would have backed up his public statements from about a week ago that in the deal, neither he nor his affiliates could try to stake a claim to that unpaid debt between Fordstam and Camberley.”
“An agreement that allows money to be shifted during the transaction would be a violation of sanctions and a red line for ministers.”
