The sanctioning of Roman Abramovich finally came on Thursday after weeks of calls to do so given the Chelsea owner’s alleged ties to Putin and those high up in the Kremlin, following the invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich and six other Russian oligarchs were accused of having blood “on their hands” by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who said “they should hang their heads in shame.”
The move leaves the future of Chelsea Football Club shrouded in doubt, as it initially seemed that the sale of the club – which Abramovich has been trying to streamline – would be ruled out. However, Downing Street has later said that it may issue the club with a new licence to allow any sale to be processed.
Boris Johnson’s Government has faced criticism for how slow it has been to crack down on Russian oligarchs with close ties to the Putin regime. While the US and EU have identified dozens of wealthy Russian business figures, Ms Truss has admitted that the UK’s higher legal threshold for imposing sanctions has slowed down the process of sanctioning individuals.
In response to the sanctions, Mr Johnson said: “There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine.”
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