Chelsea are facing fresh scrutiny over a series of secret payments made during the Roman Abramovich era, which may have breached football’s rules, including financial fair play (FFP) regulations.
A joint-investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports a string of transactions worth millions of pounds from offshore companies owned by former Blues owner Abramovich.
The alleged payments, made over a decade, appear to have benefited Chelsea but were allegedly not cited in the club’s annual accounts, submitted to the Premier League, FA and UEFA, European football’s governing body.
Among the alleged beneficiaries were an agent linked to a former Blues manager, representatives of players signed by the club, chairmen of other clubs and a high-profile member of Chelsea’s football staff.
The alleged payments — uncovered as part of a leak of 3.6 million offshore records, known as ‘Cyprus Confidential’ — raise questions over whether Chelsea secretly bypassed (FFP) rules, helping to propel the club to the pinnacle of the game. Abramovich bought Chelsea for £140million in 2003 and quickly changed the landscape of football by spending vast sums of money. His reign ended last year when he was placed under sanctions by the UK Government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ultimately forcing him to sell the club.
Wednesday's reports increase the heat on Chelsea, whose finances from 2012 to 2019 are already under investigation by the Premier League after the club’s new owners voluntarily reported that “incomplete financial information” had been submitted during Abramovich’s reign. Chelsea agreed in July a €10m (£8.57m) settlement with UEFA to cover FFP rule breaches. UEFA said the fine was for “instances of potentially incomplete financial reporting under the club’s previous ownership”.
The latest payments fall both within and outside the scope of the Premier League’s existing investigation, raising fresh questions, while the FA are also now looking into the club’s finances.
Sports lawyers, cited by the Guardian, said some of the transactions may have broken Premier League rules. Chelsea could face a points deduction.
The documents revealed Abramovich-owned offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands made a number of multi-million pound payments to individuals connected to Chelsea, often coinciding with deals by the club.
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The files also suggest Abramovich secretly bankrolled efforts to overturn FFP rules through the courts by using one of the offshore companies to pay a lawyer who was challenging the legality of the regulations before the European Commission.
A Chelsea spokesperson said: “These allegations pre-date the club’s current ownership. They are based on documents the club has not been shown and do not relate to any individual presently at the club.” The spokesperson added: “The club has assisted the regulators with their investigations and will continue to do so.”
The Premier League declined to comment while their investigation is ongoing, while an FA spokesperson said: “We are investigating.” Representatives of Abramovich were contacted but did not return a request for comment before publication.
