Open Letter to Rishi Sunak: Fulfil Your Promise to Ukrainian Victims and Resolve the Impasse over the Sale of Chelsea FC
On 21 February 2024, a coalition of 60 Ukrainian and international organisations and individuals sent an open letter to PM Rishi Sunak calling on his Government to act swiftly to resolve the impasse over the £2.5 billion sale of Chelsea Football Club and fulfil the commitment it made two years ago to use the proceeds to help victims of the war in Ukraine.
As the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February approaches, the signatories demand swift action from the Government to resolve the deadlock so the funds or a substantial percentage of them are used to meet the urgent needs of survivors and provide them with reparations for the serious human rights violations they have suffered.
In March 2022, Roman Abramovich announced his willingness to sell Chelsea FC and use the proceeds “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”. Shortly after, he became subject to UK sanctions for his close connections with Putin’s regime. The sale required a licence granted by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, which was issued on 24 May 2022, that allowed for the creation of a foundation with “exclusively humanitarian purposes supporting all victims of the conflict in Ukraine, and its consequences”.
Two years later, the process remains at a stalemate, with neither the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office nor those tasked with creating the foundation taking decisive action to progress the matter. REDRESS understands that a bureaucratic hurdle and a dispute between the Government and the foundation over whether the funds are to be directed exclusively to Ukraine or Ukrainian victims, or for broader purposes, is causing this impasse.
The stalemate undermines remarks made by the Foreign Secretary David Cameron in January of this year in Davos on the confiscation of Russian assets, where he stated “[a]t the end of the day, Russia is going to have to pay reparations for its illegal invasion, so why not spend some of the money now, rather than wait till the war is over and have all the legal wrangling about reparations”.
The funds could have a profound impact on victims of the war in Ukraine, as they constitute nearly seven times the value of the £365 million in humanitarian assistance provided by the UK to Ukraine so far. The total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine has been estimated at US $411 billion and close to 10 million people are internally displaced or living as refugees abroad.
The signatories request that all or a significant percentage of the funds are used to uphold the right to reparation to victims, given that widespread human rights violations and over 125,000 war crimes, such as conflict-related sexual violence and torture, have been reported and that it is estimated that 14 million Ukrainians need psychological aid.
The full letter and a list of signatories can be found below.
RE: REPURPOSING PROCEEDS FROM THE £2.5 BILLION SALE OF THE CHELSEA FC FOR VICTIMS OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE
Dear Prime Minister,
We, the undersigned Ukrainian and international civil society organisations and individuals, including victims and survivors of the war in Ukraine, call on you to act to resolve the two-year impasse over the proceeds of the £2.5 billion sale of the Chelsea FC, and direct them towards the urgent needs of victims and survivors, ensuring that some of the funds are repurposed as reparation for survivors.
These funds present a unique opportunity for the UK to have a profound impact on the lives of victims of the war in Ukraine. A joint assessment by the World Bank, the Government of Ukraine, the European Commission and the United Nations published in March 2023 estimated the total cost of reconstruction and recovery at US $411 billion, which includes damage to infrastructure and to the environment, as well as economic and social losses resulting from the conflict. Close to 10 million people are estimated to be internally displaced or refugees abroad. Widespread human rights violations and over 125,000 war crimes, including conflict-related sexual violence and torture, have been reported. In addition to the physical and material suffering caused, Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine, estimated at the end of 2023 that 14 million Ukrainians need psychological aid.
Since the start of the invasion in 2022, the UK has pledged circa £365 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The sale proceeds of Chelsea FC represent nearly seven times this value. The funds have the potential to dramatically improve the situation for victims and survivors and uphold their right to reparation, entrenched in international human rights and international humanitarian law.
In March 2022, Roman Abramovich, declared his willingness to sell Chelsea FC and use the proceeds worth £2.5 billion “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”. Shortly after, Abramovich became subject to UK sanctions for his close connections with Putin’s regime. With his funds frozen, the sale of the Chelsea FC was made possible by a licence granted by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) on 24 May 2022 to create a foundation with “exclusively humanitarian purposes supporting all victims of the conflict in Ukraine, and its consequences”.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport further stated, in a unilateral declaration authorising the sale on 30 May 2022, that the funds would be used for “exclusively humanitarian purposes in Ukraine”. However, two years later, the process remains at a stalemate, with neither the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office nor those tasked with creating the foundation taking decisive action to progress the matter.
REDRESS understands through correspondence with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Leo Docherty MP, that an application to OFSI for a licence to move or use the funds is required, and that it will not be able to grant an application without assessing the parties involved in any transaction, the financial institutions used, and the payment route of the transactions, including account details.
REDRESS also understands that without adequate funds and resources, the charitable foundation cannot be established and therefore an application to OFSI for a license with the requested details cannot be made. It also has been reported that a dispute has emerged between the Government and the foundation over whether the funds are to be directed exclusively to Ukraine or Ukrainian victims, or for broader purposes. In response to an enquiry by the House of Lords European Affairs Committee, the Foreign Secretary emphasised that the Government would like the funds to be spent specifically on humanitarian causes in Ukraine, “not on other causes linked to Ukraine or anything else”, but that “there is an issue with that, which we need to see through”.
This stands in stark contrast to the remarks made by the Foreign Secretary in January of this year in Davos on the confiscation of Russian assets, where he stated “[a]t the end of the day, Russia is going to have to pay reparations for its illegal invasion, so why not spend some of the money now, rather than wait till the war is over and have all the legal wrangling about reparations”. The impasse on Chelsea FC also undermines the possibility of “a voluntary donation mechanism”, announced by the UK government in the context of the Ukraine Recovery Conference last year to allow sanctioned Russian individuals to volunteer assets for Ukraine, working in practice.
Considering there are substantial funds in question, your Government should consider different avenues to repurpose the funds which may be complementary and maximise impact. We call for the Chelsea FC sale proceeds to be split between humanitarian purposes, reconstruction and reparations for victims of human rights abuses. £2.5 billion has the power to transform the lives of many victims of the conflict, allowing them to move forward with their lives.
To ensure the funds are used effectively to address the urgent needs of victims, as well as long-term recovery of the country, your Government must consult with the Ukrainian government, survivor groups and civil society, as well as with international actors involved in mechanisms for the delivery of reparation, who are well placed to guide the Government and represent the interests of victims and survivors. Through the foundation to be established, or as a separate route, the funds could be channelled into existing mechanisms such as:
- The Register of Damage for Ukraine, which was set up by an agreement between the Council of Europe, 43 states (including the UK), and the EU to serve as a record of evidence and claims for damage, loss or injury caused to all natural and legal persons concerned, as well as to the State of Ukraine, by Russia’s internationally wrongful acts in or against Ukraine. It is envisaged as the first step towards an international fund and claims and compensation mechanisms.
- The Trust Fund for Victims at the International Criminal Court (ICC), which can immediately provide reparative measures such as rehabilitation and support to victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Ukraine, and provide reparations ordered by the Court with respect to cases before the ICC, including for the war crimes of unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation which are being prosecuted in the context of the case of the ICC Prosecutor v Vladimir Putin and ICC Prosecutor v. Maria Lvova-Belova.
- The Global Survivors Fund, which is currently supporting Ukrainian authorities to provide a legal structure to deliver urgent interim reparations to ensure that the victims of conflict-related sexual violence receive concrete and life-changing support.
- A new UK mechanism for “victims of internationally wrongful conduct”, which could pool funds and enable those who have suffered abuses abroad to access them as reparations, potentially as an expansion of existing domestic schemes such as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
In light of this, we call for a commitment from your Government to:
- Take steps to ensure that the proceeds of the sale of the Chelsea FC are swiftly transferred to a charitable foundation in the UK or other existing mechanisms set up to deliver reparations to victims of the conflict.
- Ensure that a substantial percentage of the funds are used to fund reparation to victims of the conflict, particularly, of victims of gross violations of international human rights law and of serious violations of international humanitarian law, including survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.
- Engage Ukrainian civil society and victims and survivors in guiding the repurposing of the funds.
- Establish a Working Group between your Government, civil society and survivors to ensure the funds are distributed in an effective and timely manner.
We stand ready to advise and support your Government on this issue, and remain at your disposal to discuss the options further.
Signatories:
REDRESS
Center for Civil Liberties
Kharkiv Human Rights Group
Human Rights Group SICH
Ukraine 5AM Coalition, which includes:
Advocacy Advisory Panel
‘Almenda’ Civic Education Center
Association for Development of Judicial Self-Government of Ukraine
Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners
Blue Bird
Crimea-SOS
Crimean Human Rights Group
Crimea Process
DEJURE Foundation
East SOS
Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv
Expert Center for Human Rights
Fight for Right
FREE ZONE
Freerights Assocoation
Fundamental Research Support Fund
Green Leaf
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Human Rights Center “Action”
Human Rights Center ZMINA
Human Rights Platform
Institute for Peace and Common Ground
Institute of Mass Information
International Partnership for Human Rights
Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center
Kharkiv Institute for Social Research
Media Initiative for Human Rights
Postypovyi Hurt Frankivtsiv
Public Interest Journalism Lab
Regional Center for Human Rights
Social Action Centre
The Reckoning Project
Truth Hounds
Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group
Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
Ukrainian Healthcare Center (UHC)
Ukraine without Torture
World Organisation Against Torture (ОМСТ)
Ukrainian Bar Association
Yuliya Ziskina, Senior Legal Fellow, Razom for Ukraine
Kateryna Busol, Ukrainian lawyer, Associate Professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Ivan Horodyskyy, Director of the Dnistrianskyi Center for Law and Politics
International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
Global Rights Compliance
Coalition for Genocide Response
Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights
Spotlight on Corruption
Ukrainian Canadian Bar Association
Global Survivors Fund (GSF)
Global Diligence LLP
State Capture: Research and Action
Tetyana Nesterchuk, barrister, Fountain Court Chambers
Wayne Jordash KC, barrister, Doughty Street Chambers
Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws KC
International Lawyers Project (ILP)
UK Anti-Corruption Coalition (UKACC)
For more information or for an interview, please contact Eva Sanchis, Head of Communications at REDRESS, on +44 (0) 7857 110076 or [email protected].
Photo by Commission Air/Alamy Stock Photo