(MENAFN) A tax haven in the UK, the Channel island of Jersey, is preventing Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich from donating the proceeds of the Chelsea football club sale to Ukraine, according to a media outlet, which cites unnamed sources.

After the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, the UK government imposed sanctions on Abramovich, who had owned Chelsea for two decades.

At the same time, authorities in Jersey initiated an investigation into the source of Abramovich’s wealth.

Jersey’s Royal Court imposed a freezing order on £5.3 billion ($7 billion) worth of assets linked to the Russian tycoon.

This order also blocked £2.35 billion from the 2022 sale of Chelsea. Abramovich had reportedly intended to allocate these funds to assist victims of the war in Ukraine, both in the Russian and Ukrainian territories.

The funds remain locked in a UK bank account and can only be released with approval from the UK Foreign Office.

Due to the ongoing sanctions, Abramovich is unable to access the money, but retains legal ownership and must authorize any potential distribution.

The media outlet reports that Jersey initially treated Abramovich as a criminal suspect, although further documents revealed that raids on his properties were conducted unlawfully.

Abramovich’s legal team claims that key data was deleted during the investigation, a claim that surfaced after they forced officials to release internal communications related to the case.

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