Kieran Maguire cites Roman Abramovich in £2.3bn Chelsea twist
It is ‘frustrating’ that it has taken the UK government over a year to release the £2.3billion Chelsea takeover funds to Ukraine.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the frozen Chelsea funds.
The £2.3billion funds pledged by former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to Ukraine following the takeover by Todd Boehly remains frozen in a UK bank account.
CBS journalist Ben Jacobs reported on Monday (12 June) that the funds are ‘not far off being released’ with the process described as ‘highly complex’.
A new Ukrainian support foundation is being established for the money to be transferred into and distributed.
It has been over a year since the Blues takeover was completed, with Boehly completing the deal to succeed Abramovich in May 2022.
Maguire labelled the process ‘frustrating’ and ‘disappointing’ before suggesting that the only winner from the saga has been lawyers.
“It is really disappointing that it has taken over a year for the funds from the Chelsea takeover to be released for good causes,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“I think the government in a certain sense has had its hands tied, as there are stories about trusts related to the beneficiaries of Roman Abramovich’s estate having reservations about how the money is distributed.
“So it is frustrating without a doubt, but I think it is difficult to find one individual party to pin the blame on.
“As always, the only winners in this process have been the lawyers.“
In other news, Chelsea in advanced talks to agree deal despite imminent Premier League ban