An application on behalf of Roman Abramovich to form a charity and distribute the billions generated from his sale of Chelsea football club has been submitted.
The Charity Commission confirmed this week it has received the application as part of a bid to unlock the up to £2.5bn in proceeds Abramovich received from the sale four years ago.
Former UNICEF executive director Mike Penrose is understood to be behind the application to register the Foundation for the Victims of Conflict.
British diplomat Martin Griffiths has been appointed a charity trustee, the Telegraph reported yesterday, alongside Nimco Ali, co-founder of female genital mutilation charity the Five Foundation, and Caryl Stern, former head of US grantmaker the Walton Family Foundation.
A commission spokesperson told Civil Society: “We […] will be assessing this [application] against the legal framework for charitable status to determine if it meets the legal tests to be a charity.”
Concerns were raised last week over the charity’s proposed objects – to support victims of conflict “anywhere” in the world – which appear to clash with Abramovich’s original pledge for the money to support those affected by the war in Ukraine specifically.
Penrose last week told the Times the charity’s focus would be to provide “humanitarian assistance to people in need anywhere in the world who are victims of conflict”.
In response, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said it was still taking steps to ensure Abramovich’s 2022 pledge is met.
An FCDO spokesperson told Civil Society: “Our absolute priority remains ensuring the funds reach the most vulnerable in Ukraine.”
The government said last month it would take further action after Abramovich missed a deadline it had set for the Chelsea FC sale money to be released.
Abramovich was sanctioned by the government over ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
That year, he pledged to donate his money from the sale of Chelsea FC to victims of that war but it remains held in his private company Fordstam Ltd.
Fordstam’s latest accounts give various reasons why the funds have not yet been released, including an ongoing criminal investigation in tax haven Jersey.
The accounts also appear to dispute whether the full proceeds from the sale should be given to humanitarian causes.
