Chelsea Sale On Hold Due To UK Sanctions On Roman Abramovich: Government

Roman Abramovich's hopes of selling European champions Chelsea were put on hold on Thursday after the UK government hit the Russian billionaire with an assets freeze. The finance ministry said restrictions "apply to any entities that are owned or controlled by Roman Abramovich", adding: "This means Chelsea Football Club is now also subject to an asset freeze under UK financial sanctions."Abramovich was on Thursday hit with an assets freeze and travel ban as part of new UK government sanctions targeting seven Russian oligarchs. Among others sanctioned are leading industrialist Oleg Deripaska, Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin and the head of Gazprom Alexei Miller, the government announced.

Speculation has swirled for weeks about whether Abramovich would be included on the targeted action against Russian billionaires perceived to be close to the Kremlin.

Abramovich announced last week that he was selling Chelsea, after buying the English Premier League side in 2003, and bankrolled its successes at domestic and European level.

The UK government estimated his net worth at £9.4 billion (11.1 billion euros, $12.2 billion), but said it was mitigating the effect of the sanctions on Chelsea by allowing the club to continue to operate.

A special licence "authorises a number of football-related activities", the government said in a statement.

"This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football-related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs," it added.

Deripaska is Abramovich's one-time business partner, while officials described Sechin as Russian President Vladimir Putin's "right-hand man".

The four others -- Miller, VTB