More than two years after Roman Abramovich sold Chelsea Football Club under intense political pressure, billions of pounds from the transaction remain locked in a UK-controlled offshore jurisdiction-trapped at the intersection of geopolitical hostility, opaque financial governance, and competing narratives about the origins of elite wealth. New revelations from Jersey, the Channel Island tax haven that froze the funds, have reignited controversy over the UK’s sanctions regime and the credibility of its offshore financial network.

When Russia’s conflict with Ukraine escalated in early 2022, Abramovich became one of the most high-profile targets of British sanctions. For two decades, he had been a fixture in London’s elite circles, transforming Chelsea into a global football powerhouse. But once the UK government designated him as a Russian oligarch with alleged ties to the Kremlin, his assets became political tools. To avoid the club collapsing, Abramovich agreed to sell Chelsea for £2.35 billion (around $3 billion), stating publicly that the proceeds would go toward a fund benefiting “all victims of the Ukraine war.”

That money, however, has never reached anyone. According to recent reporting, it remains frozen-caught not in a dispute over whether it should be donated, but over Jersey’s attempt to investigate Abramovich’s financial history. The Channel Island’s Royal Court had previously issued a sweeping freezing order covering £5.3 billion ($7 billion) in Abramovich-linked assets, including the Chelsea proceeds. Ostensibly, the move aimed to probe the source of his wealth. Yet the legal........

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