[New post] UK Government set to hand £2.3bn of proceeds from Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea sale to foundation for Ukraine
Connor Andrews posted: " The UK government is seeking EU approval before donating £2.3billion from Roman Abramovich's Chelsea sale to charitable causes in Ukraine. A foundation has been created and headed up by former UNICEF chief executive Mike Penrose as part of an " talkSPORT
The UK government is seeking EU approval before donating £2.3billion from Roman Abramovich's Chelsea sale to charitable causes in Ukraine.
A foundation has been created and headed up by former UNICEF chief executive Mike Penrose as part of an agreement set up between the government and Abramovich last year.
Bruce Buck put forward the idea
The Telegraph claims that it will be one of the biggest charitable donations to war victims in history, and could be completed within weeks.
Russian oligarch Abramovich relinquished control of Chelsea after 19 years last February following his country's invasion of Ukraine, later announcing he was to sell the Blues.
The 56-year-old's UK assets were frozen by the government, along with a number of other oligarchs, with the then foreign secretary Lizz Truss citing 'close links to [Russian president Vladimir] Putin'.
Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over Chelsea in May, with an agreement put in place to distribute the proceeds to victims of the war.
Penrose will now enact that agreement, should it be green-lighted by the EU, as Abramovich is also sanctioned on the continent.
Speaking to the Telegraph last year, Penrose said: "The foundation can meet an immediate need to scale up the provision of humanitarian aid including medical equipment, trauma, surgery equipment, and an ability to meet the needs of conflict affected populations near the frontline in sectors such as the provision of food, nutrition, basic services, and very importantly, education as well as medical support.
Penrose, the chairman of SoccerAid, will oversee the distribution
"There is the need to support Ukrainian institutions that have been overloaded because when you have that level of displacement, obviously you get schools that are suddenly taking in far more children than they are equipped to deal with."
It was Abramovich and former Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck's idea to set up the foundation, with Penrose saying: They reached out to me because I was the CEO of Unicef UK, I was CEO of Action Contre La Faim in France, I was the Global Humanitarian Director for Save the Children, and the chairman of Soccer Aid.
"They reached out to me to do this but I am creating this independently on my own initiative with support from recognised legal and humanitarian experts."
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