An application to the Charity Commission was filed over the weekend detailing Abramovich’s plan to spend the proceeds on war victims “anywhere” rather than only in Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia since 2022.
The Government has not responded to Telegraph Sport requests for comment on whether it will give its permission for the charity to be set up.
A Charity Commission statement confirmed receipt of the application. It said: “We have received an application to register the Foundation for the Victims of Conflict to receive funds from the sale of Chelsea FC and will be assessing this against the legal framework for charitable status to determine if it meets the legal tests to be a charity. Our role as regulator is to ensure that organisations entered onto the Register of Charities meet the legal definition of a charity and that trustees comply with their legal duties.”
The Todd Boehly-led Clearlake consortium bought Chelsea in May 2022 as Abramovich was sanctioned over alleged links to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, but funds have been in limbo since.
As reported by The Telegraph last week, the foundation is now seeking registration – regardless of Whitehall consent – in an application led by Mike Penrose, a former Unicef UK chief executive.
Penrose is now joined on an independent board of trustees by Griffiths, who led mediation efforts as the UN special envoy for Yemen; Nimco Ali, co-founder of The Five Foundation, who has campaigned prominently against female genital mutilation; and Caryl Stern, former head of the Walton Family Foundation in the US.
Sources involved in talks say “engagement with Government stakeholders is expected in the coming weeks as the review progresses”.
The charity will have an official remit of being “for the public benefit, the saving of lives and relief of suffering through the provision of humanitarian assistance to people in need anywhere in the world who are victims of conflict, by the provision of grant financing (or other suitable support) to organisations able to provide relief, humanitarian assistance, post-conflict support and/or reconstruction”.
It remains to be seen whether the Government will make any emergency moves to block its registration.
Regardless, the money will not be spent yet as the account is frozen and tied up in a dispute between Abramovich and Jersey.
A falling out with the Government over the remit of the charity has resulted in an almost four-year delay in releasing what would be an unprecedented donation by an individual to such causes.
Those involved insist the details to be registered this week are aligned with Abramovich’s legal position with the Government throughout.