Chelsea’s bank account has been temporarily frozen by Barclays Bank, in yet another bold step in the light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the UK government’s subsequent sanction of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
According to SkyNews, the suspension is due to the bank’s need for time to evaluate the license Chelsea has been granted to continue football-related activities.
Chelsea’s business credit cards have also been temporarily revoked.
The club expressed hope that the suspension would be removed soon in a statement released on Friday.
The UK government on Thursday, March 10, gave Chelsea a licence to continue with football-related activities after Abramovich had “his assets frozen, a prohibition on transactions with UK individuals and businesses, a travel ban and transport sanctions” imposed on him.
The sanctions are intended to stop the 55-year-old from making any money in the UK, but the government has granted Chelsea a special licence to allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches.
However, due to the sanctions, Chelsea is unable to give new contracts to players or staff, perform any transfer transactions, or sell new match tickets.