Roman Abramovich expects £1.5bn Chelsea loan to be frozen after club’s sale

UK government placed sanctions on billionaire over his links to Vladimir Putin

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Reuters

Roman Abramovich expects his £1.5 billion ($1.9bn) loan to Chelsea to be frozen when the club’s sale is carried out, PA reported.

Fears are thought to have been raised in government that Mr Abramovich could insist on his loan being repaid, which could jeopardise the sale process.

The Russian-Israeli billionaire is understood to have been advised that the UK government sanctions against him block his plans to write off Chelsea’s debt.

Mr Abramovich, 55, pledged to wipe out his loan to Chelsea when confirming he had put the Stamford Bridge club up for sale on March 2, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Downing Street imposed sanctions on him on March 10, claiming to have proved the business magnate’s links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The terms of those sanctions have left Chelsea’s parent company Fordstam Limited frozen, with the Blues operating under a special government licence.

And now Chelsea’s long-term owner expects his loan to the club to be frozen when the sale is completed.

The UK has sanctioned more than 1,400 individuals and businesses, including 100 oligarchs and their relatives, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The list of oligarchs includes: Roman Abramovich, 55. PA

Katerina Tikhonova, left, and Maria Vorontsova, unseen, also known as Maria Putina, daughters of Russia President Vladimir Putin. Reuters

Oleg Deripaska, 54. The industrialist is worth £2 billion and has had close links with the British political establishment. He has a multimillion pound property portfolio in the UK. Reuters

Igor Sechin, 61. Officials described Mr Sechin as Mr Putin's right-hand man and the second most important person in the country. Reuters

Andrey Kostin, 65. The chairman of VTB, a Russian state-owned bank. Mr Kostin is also a member of the supreme council of the United Russia political party and deemed a close associate of Mr Putin. AP Photo

Alexei Miller, 60. The chief executive of energy company Gazprom, Russia's largest company and the world's biggest public energy supplier. AFP

Nikolai Tokarev, 71, president of the Russia state-owned pipeline company Transneft. Mr Tokarev is a former KGB officer who served with Mr Putin in East Germany towards the end of the Cold War. AP Photo

Kirill Shamalov, 39. He is Russia's youngest billionaire and the ex-husband of Mr Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova. Reuters

Pyotr Fradkov, 43. He is head of the sanctioned Promsvyazbank, which finances Russian defence industries, and the son of Mikhail Fradkov, a former prime minister of Russia and chief of its foreign intelligence service. Reuters

Denis Bortnikov, 47. The deputy president of government-affiliated VTB bank. His father, Alexander Bortnikov, is head of the Federal Security Service. Getty Images

Yury Slyusar, 47. The director of United Aircraft Corporation, one of the major defence organisations that has also been sanctioned. Getty Images

Mr Abramovich vowed to create a new charitable foundation and donate all the proceeds of Chelsea’s sale to aid victims of the war in Ukraine when first putting the Blues up for sale.

The government is likely to divert the sale proceeds to charitable causes, but Downing Street chiefs could yet also freeze those funds.

Chelsea’s sale must be completed by May 31, when the government’s special licence expires.

The Raine Group and Chelsea have expected the sale to remain on course to meet that deadline.

Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly’s consortium is understood to have been selected as preferred bidder by the Raine Group, the New York merchant bank overseeing Chelsea’s sale.

Mr Boehly has edged ahead of bids from Sir Martin Broughton and Steve Pagliuca to receive the preferred bidder status that inches the US tycoon ever closer to a takeover.

But British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s last-minute bid on Friday has given pause to the entire sale process, with the UK’s richest man understood to be pressing on to buy the Blues.