Case Explained: Criminal investigation into Chelsea sale money could affect Roman Abramovich legal battle – Legal Perspective

A legal fight between Roman Abramovich and the UK Government over money raised from his sale of Chelsea could be affected by a Jersey investigation into whether the money constituted “proceeds of crime.”

Accounts for Fordstam Limited, the company through which Abramovich owned Chelsea, state that a loan to Fordstam from another Abramovich company, Camberley International Investments Ltd, was being looked at by the authorities on the Channel Island. That investigation, the accounts stated, could include proceeds from the sale of the club.

“From judgments published by the Jersey Court in November 2025, it is understood that the funds provided by Camberley International Investments Limited may be affected by an ongoing criminal investigation initiated by the Attorney General of Jersey, into whether certain assets (potentially including the net proceeds) amount to the proceeds of crime,” the Fordstam report stated in a section titled ‘Principal risks and uncertainties facing the company.’

Abramovich denies any wrongdoing.

The Jersey investigation could have an impact, though, on the ongoing legal battle between Abramovich and the UK Government over how the money raised from the 2022 sale — currently frozen in a UK account — is used.

According to reports in multiple media outlets, Abramovich’s legal team has insisted that the money is his to allocate as he sees fit. The Government position is that the money must be ringfenced to spend in Ukraine.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said in response to the Abramovich letter: “This money was promised to Ukraine over three years ago. It is time Roman Abramovich does the right thing but if he won’t we will act.”

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Abramovich was sanctioned and had his assets frozen by the UK government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which forced the sale of the club to a consortium featuring American businessman Todd Boehly.

The Fordstam accounts appear to indicate that the net proceeds of the Chelsea sale would actually be £987 million ($1.33 billion), taking into account the repayment of a £1.4bn ($1.88bn) loan to Camberley.

The Fordstam accounts also state that £150m ($202m) was held back by the Boehly consortium for a period of five years to cover “losses incurred by any member of the CFC group from the period of the acquisition date to the payment due date resulting from any proceeding in relation to events which took place before the acquisition date.”

Chelsea are understood to be expecting a financial rather than sporting sanction to be imposed in relation to 74 Football Association charges facing the club, which relate to alleged rule breaches which occurred during Abramovich’s tenure.

A club statement issued last September highlighted the “unprecedented transparency” shown by current bosses in co-operating with the football authorities in bringing the alleged rule breaches to their attention.