Chelsea FC owners find potential tax hitch over luxury car gifts

LONDON: Chelsea FC’s new owners are grappling with a potential tax liability over luxury cars the London football team gave its players in recent years, people familiar with the matter said.

The US consortium behind Chelsea is looking into whether the club made proper tax declarations for automobiles and other high-value gifts to players during the ownership of Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, according to the people.

Bidders for Chelsea discovered the issue during due diligence and were later told about inquiries by British tax authorities into the matter, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Abramovich was personally involved in decisions over Chelsea’s tax matters.

US investor Todd Boehly and California-based private equity firm Clearlake Capital Group bought the team from Abramovich in May for £4.25 billion (RM22.4bil) including future investments.

They triumphed in what was one of the most hotly contested takeovers of a major global sports brand ever.

The Times of London reported last month that Chelsea had informed the British tax authority, HM Revenue & Customs, of an unidentified issue with the club’s tax affairs.

A spokesman for Chelsea said the club, as a general rule, doesn’t comment on regulatory matters.

Abramovich couldn’t be directly reached for comment. Representatives for Boehly, Clearlake and HMRC didn’t have any immediate comment.