INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Chelsea Football Club's Russian owner Roman Abramovich was on Thursday hit with a UK assets freeze and travel ban, throwing his plans to
sell the European and world club champions into disarray.The billionaire owner of the English Premier League side was one of seven oligarchs
slapped with restrictions over Russia's Ukraine invasion, including his former business partner Oleg Deripaska.Others sanctioned were
Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin, whom the British government described as Russian President Vladimir Putin's "right-hand man," and the
head of Gazprom Alexei Miller.Also on the list were VTB bank chairman Andrey Kostin, Transneft president Nikolai Tokarev and Bank Rossiya
described them all as part of Putin's inner circle.Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of delaying action against wealthy
Russians, and turning a blind eye to Russian money that has coursed through London since the collapse of the Soviet Union.He called the
sanctions "the latest step in the UK's unwavering support for the Ukrainian people."Foreign Secretary Liz Truss added: "Today's sanctions
The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands
They should hang their heads in shame."Special licenseSpeculation has swirled since Russia's invasion of Ukraine about whether Abramovich
would be included in the targeted action against Russian billionaires perceived to be close to the Kremlin.He announced last week that he
was selling Chelsea, after buying the English Premier League side in 2003 and bankrolling its successes at domestic and European level.The
club to continue to operate.A special license "authorizes 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.Selling the club or transferring players were not included on the
list of permitted activities, scuppering Abramovich's plans to offload the club.A UK sanctions official told reporters: "The license that's
been issued right now does not allow for the sale of the club."It will be for the Treasury to consider the further application for a license
to sell the club," he added, but said no request for that had yet been made.Johnson's official spokesman told reporters the government was
"open" to a sale, subject to a new license being approved.But he added: "Under no circumstances would any sale allow Roman Abramovich to
profit from that or take any money from that sale."Shares in Russian steel giant Evraz, of which Abramovich is the major shareholder,
plunged almost 12% on the London Stock Exchange Thursday morning until trading was suspended.Yachts and planesAbramovich announced last week
was one of the businessmen working in the shadows following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, seizing control of lucrative
He also owns one of the world's largest yachts, the 533-foot (162-meter) Eclipse.Abramovich is also subject to transport sanctions, which
have banned Russian aircraft from flying or landing in the UK and give the government powers to remove planes belonging to designated
Russian individuals and entities.Russian ships have been banned from UK ports.Abramovich changed the face and profile of English football
when he took over Chelsea, turning the perennial also-rans into a European powerhouse and ushering in the era of mass money in the domestic
game.Chelsea have won 19 major trophies in the Abramovich era, including their first two Champions League crowns and five Premier League
