UK government lifts Chelsea sanctions following Todd Boehly takeover

Todd Boehly is officially the new owner of the Chelsea football club. Meanwhile, the UK government has lifted the sanctions on the club it imposed under Roman Abramovich.

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It is official. Todd Boehly of the United States of America (USA) is the new owner of the Chelsea football club, officially taking over from Roman Abramovich of Russia. The club was sanctioned by the United Kingdom (UK) government since Abramovich was sanctioned too following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Since the Russian's assets were frozen in the UK, it included Chelsea, which failed to do any financial transactions. At the same time, special permission was granted to the club to continue playing its matches. However, following the American's takeover, Chelsea is now sanction-free.

On the other hand, the UK government has also mentioned that the takeover will not financially benefit Abramovich in the wake of Russia's attack on its neighbouring country. The Chelsea takeover was officially completed on Monday, with Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Boehly and Clearlake Capital. As a result, The Blues can now do any financial transactions sanction-free, including merchandise sales, tickets sale and entering the transfer market from tomorrow.

"Today's change of ownership marks a new chapter for Chelsea Football Club in the best interests of its fans, the club and the wider football community. The club is now no longer subject to the sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich, an individual who has enabled Putin's brutal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine," a UK government spokesperson was quoted as saying by FotMob.

"Since sanctions were imposed on Abramovich on 10 March, we have worked tirelessly to ensure the club can continue to play football while maintaining the integrity of our sanctions regime. Chelsea's long-term future is now secured, and binding commitments have been received, which ensure sanctioned individuals cannot financially benefit from the sale. The government retains control to ensure that this is the case," the official added.

"We have begun ensuring the proceeds are used for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine that result from Russian aggression. Further details will be set out in due course. I want to thank ministers and officials in the British government and the Premier League for all their work in making this happen," the spokesperson concluded.