The British Government is reportedly awaiting the green light from the European Union to donate the substantial figure to aid humanitarian efforts in Ukraine which remains under attack from Russian forces.

Once approved, the funds are set to go to a foundation to support Ukrainian war victims following an agreement between the British Government and Abramovich.

Mike Penrose, a former chief executive of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, has been charged with setting up the foundation.

Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea last year after he was sanctioned by the British Government due to the war in Ukraine.

The oligarch, who owned Chelsea for 19 years, has been accused of having "clear connections" to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A consortium led by American business tycoon Todd Boehly took over as owners of Chelsea in May last year after completing a deal that is thought to be worth £4.25 billion ($5.20 billion/€4.76 billion).

The money was deposited into a frozen bank account in the United Kingdom to ensure Abramovich did not receive any proceeds of the sale.

When announcing plans to sell the club in March 2022, Abramovich said he had agreed to set up a charitable foundation to benefit "all victims of the war in Ukraine", including providing "critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims" as well as supporting the "long-term work of recovery".

Abramovich’s press office has confirmed to Russia’s official state news agency TASS that he is not involved in the distribution process of the proceeds from the sale.

"Before the sale of Chelsea, Roman Abramovich announced that he wanted the proceeds to be transferred to a charitable foundation for the needs of the victims on both sides of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine," the press office said.

"This is exclusively about humanitarian assistance to the population.

"However, after the sale of the club, the money was never transferred to Abramovich's account, and have since been at the disposal of the British authorities".

Leaked documents have revealed that Abramovich had held assets worth more than £1.25 billion ($1.5 billion/€1.4 billion) with Credit Suisse via secret offshore companies in a report by OCCRP.

Credit Suisse said it "cannot comment on potential client relationships" but insisted that it operates "in strict compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations".