08 August 2023 , 18:10
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The Premier League have allegedly opened an investigation into Chelsea over possible breaches of their financial rules.
The alleged breaches date back to Roman Abramovich's time as owner at Stamford Bridge. He was removed last spring after being sanctioned by the UK Government in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with his assets in Britain being frozen.
Abramovich was also forced to sell the club, with a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital buying the Premier League giants in May 2022. But his time as owner continues to cloud the club, with league chiefs reportedly now opening an investigation into alleged financial rule breaches.
According to Sky Sports, Chelsea's new owners reported their own club to both UEFA and the Premier League after their takeover. The Blues have not yet been charged by the Premier League.
But if they were to be charged and are found guilty, sanctions could include a fine or even a points deduction. UEFA have already fined Chelsea £8.6million for submitting incomplete financial information” between 2012 and 2019.
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As reported by The Times, the investigation includes scrutiny of payments of millions of pounds to offshore companies, as well as at least one payment to a player's family. Chelsea chose not to respond when asked for comment from the Times.
The Premier League are investigating Chelsea over possible financial breaches (Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)It is alleged that payments to six offshore companies have been identified, which is linked to the transfer of players. The payments do not appear to have been registered as part of the club’s annual financial reporting to the FA, Premier League and Uefa.
It is claimed that some of the companies have been traced to football agents and intermediaries.
At the time of UEFA's fine, the Blues said in a statement: “Chelsea has fully cooperated and assisted Uefa with its investigation of these matters and the club has entered into a settlement agreement with Uefa.
“In accordance with the club’s ownership group’s core principles of full compliance and transparency with its regulators, we are grateful that this case has been concluded by proactive disclosure of information to Uefa and a settlement that fully resolves the reported matters.”
The UEFA charges only related to accounts filed in 2018 and 2019 because of a five-year statute of limitations. The Premier League though has no such time barrier.
Mirror Football has approached both Chelsea and the Premier League for comment. The Blues declined to comment. It is Premier League policy not to comment on investigations until a decision is made whether to charge a club or not.