The UK authorities has threatened to writer erstwhile Chelsea Football Club proprietor Roman Abramovich to marque definite the wealth from the club's merchantability goes to Ukraine.
The £2.5bn successful proceeds person been frozen successful a UK slope relationship since the sale, with Mr Abramovich sanctioned aft Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022.
The UK authorities wants the wealth to beryllium for Ukrainian humanitarian aid, but Mr Abramovich has said helium wants it to spell to "all victims of the warfare successful Ukraine".
In a associated statement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: "While the doorway for negotiations volition stay open, we are afloat prepared to prosecute this done the courts if required."
They said they wanted "to guarantee radical suffering successful Ukraine tin payment from these proceeds arsenic soon arsenic possible".
They added: "The authorities is determined to spot the proceeds from the merchantability of Chelsea Football Club scope humanitarian causes successful Ukraine, pursuing Russia's amerciable full-scale invasion.
"We are profoundly frustrated that it has not been imaginable to scope statement connected this with Mr Abramovich truthful far".
The hold successful releasing the funds centres connected a disagreement betwixt the UK authorities and his lawyers.
Mr Abramovich - a Russian billionaire who made his luck successful lipid and state - was granted a peculiar licence to merchantability Chelsea pursuing Russia's penetration of Ukraine, providing helium could beryllium helium would not payment from the sale.
He is alleged to person beardown ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, thing helium has denied.
He cannot entree the £2.5bn merchantability proceeds nether UK sanctions but the wealth inactive legally belongs to him.
When helium announced his determination to merchantability the club, helium said proceeds from the merchantability would beryllium donated via a instauration "for the payment of each victims of the warfare successful Ukraine", which would see those successful Russia.
The UK authorities has pushed backmost and argued that the funds should lone beryllium spent connected humanitarian efforts wrong Ukraine.
A House of Lords committee said past twelvemonth said it was "incomprehensible" that Mr Abramovich's committedness to usage the funds to enactment Ukraine remained unfulfilled, and that the assets remained frozen.
"This impasse reflects severely connected some Mr Abramovich and the government, which ought to person pushed for a much binding commitment," the study said.
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