Author Topic: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?  (Read 4940 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Blue_and_Gold

  • Independent Moderator
  • Posts: 5410
  • It's a right Kerfuffle.
    • View Profile
The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« on: February 24, 2022, 09:48:51 AM »

Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich 'has been effectively BARRED from living in Britain'... as he is named as one of the 'key enablers' of Vladimir Putin's regime

The billionaire has not been seen at his Premier League football club's south-west London home, Stamford Bridge, for months.

He withdrew his application for a British Tier 1 investor visa in 2018, after reported delays in his application following criticism of Russian oligarchs in the wake of the Salisbury poisonings.

According to The Sun, senior security sources now say it is unlikely that the 55-year-old will ever be allowed to live in Britain again.

Immigration officials are reportedly under instructions to make it impossible for Mr Abramovich - who owns a £125million mansion near Kensington Palace - to base himself in the UK.

His case is said to be being handled by the Home Office's 'Special Cases Unit'.

It comes after Mr Abramovich was named by MPs on Tuesday as being one of 35 oligarchs identified by  Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as one of the 'key enablers' of the 'kleptocracy' run by the country's president Vladimir Putin.

He vehemently denies he is close to the Kremlin or has done anything that would merit sanctions being imposed against him - as Britain looked to impose sanctions on Russia amid rising tensions with Ukraine.

In 2018 Mr Abramovich became an Israeli citizen, allowing him to enter for Britain for up to six months.

He used his Israeli passport last October to make a short trip to London.

However, a senior source told The Sun that any attempt by the oligarch to apply for a permanent visa would 'almost certainly be rejected'.

So who could be next on Boris's sanctions hit list? From...

Mr Abramovich has an estimated wealth of £8.4billion.

As well as his huge property portfolio, he also owns a series of superyachts, including the £450million Solaris, which has a missile detection system.

Mr Abramovich has never held UK citizenship and made his money selling assets purchased from the state when the Soviet Union broke up.

He arrived at Chelsea in 2003 and transformed the team from outside challengers to a Premier League giant with the help of Jose Mourinho. 

The bulk of Abramovich's UK wealth is to be found in Evraz, a steel and mining giant listed on the London stock market.

In the Commons on Tuesday, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran read out a list that featured Mr Abramovich's name alongside other oligarchs including Arsenal investor Alisher Usmanov.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss refused to say whether or not Mr Abramovich would be targeted with sanctions, but suggested that others would be.   

'We have a long list of those complicit in the actions of the Russian leadership,' she said.

'Should Russia refuse to pull back its troops, we can keep turning up the heat, targeting more banks, elites and companies of significance.

'This is about inflicting pain on Putin and degrading the Russian economic system over time, targeting people that are close to Putin. What we have to do is make it as painful as possible.'

Mr Johnson yesterday held talks with senior City figures about ways to tighten the screws on Russian businesses and individuals with links to the Kremlin.

The PM told the Commons that the Government was 'bringing forward' the next wave of sanctions which would 'stop all Russian banks, all oligarchs, all Russian individuals raising money on London markets'.

The Russian billionaire, 54, reportedly boasts a British property empire that includes a 15-bedroom mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens (pictured) that is believed to be now worth £125 million

Ministers are also drawing up plans to stop the Kremlin borrowing on the UK financial markets.

Tory MP Bob Seely said the 'tide of dirty money' entering the UK from Russia was 'damaging' the country.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was time to end the 'era of oligarch impunity' and ensure 'this country will no longer be homes for their loot'.

Mr Johnson acknowledged the impatience of many to move faster, but said it was vital that it was done on a co-ordinated international basis.

'On all these measures it is very important to remember that they are more effective when all financial centres move forward together, and that is what the UK has been organising,' he said.

'We can keep turning up the heat.'


First they fascinate the fools, then they attempt to gag the intelligent.

TonyM

  • Posts: 1261
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2022, 01:43:18 PM »
Will this change (or strengthen) their view on whether European qualification should be based on on-field performance

Blue_and_Gold

  • Independent Moderator
  • Posts: 5410
  • It's a right Kerfuffle.
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2022, 09:25:31 PM »
MP calls for Abromovich to be stripped of Chelsea ownership.


https://www.football365.com/news/abromovich-stripped-chelsea-fc-mp-reveals-putin-links

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/roman-abramovich-linked-to-russian-state-and-corrupt-activity-mp-says/ar-AAUfIhN?ocid=UP97DHP&li=AAnZ9Ug



Presumably Everton could face similar problems.


Man United have severed links with their official travel partner, Aeroflot (£100 million pound deal).
First they fascinate the fools, then they attempt to gag the intelligent.

Blue_and_Gold

  • Independent Moderator
  • Posts: 5410
  • It's a right Kerfuffle.
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2022, 08:02:55 PM »

Roman Abramovich hands club over to trustees in stunning statement.

"Chelsea have just published a statement from Roman Abramovich on their website where the Chelsea owner announced he was “giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable foundation the stewardship and care of Chelsea FC.”

It’s a colossal moment in the club’s history, and it’s taking a while to digest what it means. Is he selling the club? Or just stepping back?


The Russian invasion of Ukraine – under the orders Vladimir Putin, has put Abramovich’s ownership of Chelsea under sudden scrutiny, but this is still almost totally unexpected. Labour MPs had begun questioning Russian ownership of clubs in the UK, but it didn’t yet feel like it had the weight to threaten the man who has been in serene command at Chelsea for almost 20 years.

It is likely that he was going to face increasing difficulties as sanctions expanded, so this is perhaps just a way of insulating Chelsea from that to some degree. The fact that the club owes him £1.5bn because of the way his ownership is structured makes things very complicated indeed".



£1.5bn.

The amount is staggering enough, but taking into account who its owed to and where the money originated from, is this really what supporters want for their Clubs?



First they fascinate the fools, then they attempt to gag the intelligent.

Blue_and_Gold

  • Independent Moderator
  • Posts: 5410
  • It's a right Kerfuffle.
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2022, 09:20:33 PM »
Chelski Trustees not so keen on taking on the running of the Club.

It's not going to be as easy for Roman as he thought it was going to be!
First they fascinate the fools, then they attempt to gag the intelligent.

Blue_and_Gold

  • Independent Moderator
  • Posts: 5410
  • It's a right Kerfuffle.
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2022, 11:38:38 AM »
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/roman-abramovich-blocked-from-selling-chelsea-after-uk-govt-freezes-his-assets/ar-AAUS0hW?ocid=UP97DHP&li=AAnZ9Ug

I understand that this may appear a bit rich to many, as there's no way our Govt (or previous Govt's) didn't know all this was happening prior to the invasion. "Dodgy" Russian money (and money from other Countries) has been flowing in to the UK for years and it would appear to have been welcomed until recently.

"Source of funds" has been the buzz words for a number of years, but somehow football appears to have been immune to it, at least to some degree. I guess that suited people in power both in and outside of the game. It's Mega Bucks that many individuals have benefited from.

Could they go as far as taking away all the Trophy's and titles Chelsea have won (and demand a return of prize money) because of this. If the money is deemed "proceeds of crime" they are fully entitled to do so. It would also send out a big message to the people involved at all levels of the game.

Its been building up for years. Such a shame that its an invasion of a Country and the killing of its people that wakes people up to the fact and things start to happen.

I hope John Terry joins the forum so he can give us the benefit of his obvious wisdom!




First they fascinate the fools, then they attempt to gag the intelligent.

gs50

  • Posts: 722
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2022, 12:05:38 PM »
Perhaps it's the beginning of the end of the Premier League.

Anton

  • Posts: 151
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2022, 02:03:12 PM »
Its a shame any sport gets involved in war, politics ect.  I Suppose this was inevitable given the circumstances..

Mallard

  • Trusted User
  • Posts: 7152
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2022, 05:09:03 PM »
They are really hitting Chelsea hard.  Any players whose contract is coming up for renewal can’t be offered a new deal.   No match days tickets can be sold for any of their teams.   Sponsors looking to walk away.  Can’t buy any new players or sell any.   All kind of other restriction being stuck into them.   

Must be a worry to every club in the Country with Russian connections.
What if the Hokey Cokey really is what it’s all about ?

gs50

  • Posts: 722
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #9 on: March 10, 2022, 05:31:54 PM »
Presuming can't receive TV monies.

Mallard

  • Trusted User
  • Posts: 7152
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #10 on: March 10, 2022, 06:03:16 PM »
Looking at the Clubs latest posted accounts it seems our current assets looked very healthy to a figure of £600k.
What if the Hokey Cokey really is what it’s all about ?

Blue_and_Gold

  • Independent Moderator
  • Posts: 5410
  • It's a right Kerfuffle.
    • View Profile
First they fascinate the fools, then they attempt to gag the intelligent.

Linnet

  • Posts: 559
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #12 on: March 11, 2022, 11:41:29 AM »
Looking at the Clubs latest posted accounts it seems our current assets looked very healthy to a figure of £600k.

Mallard, including long term debt we are still £286,000 in debt but it is £10K better than last time

northwootton

  • Posts: 76
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #13 on: March 11, 2022, 11:50:48 AM »
No one should take any comfort from those figures.  I do not know composition of fixed assets but I would imagine most are unrealisable.  I am looking for a competent window dresser - know anyone?

Blue_and_Gold

  • Independent Moderator
  • Posts: 5410
  • It's a right Kerfuffle.
    • View Profile
Re: The beginning of the end for Chelsea and their financial doping?
« Reply #14 on: March 11, 2022, 12:28:19 PM »
No one should take any comfort from those figures.  I do not know composition of fixed assets but I would imagine most are unrealisable.  I am looking for a competent window dresser - know anyone?

Carousel accounting, holding company, and timing would presumably all come into it.   :dontknow:
First they fascinate the fools, then they attempt to gag the intelligent.

 

SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal