Imperial War Museums has decided not to repay a donation from the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, after taking advice from the government.
The Chelsea Football Club owner is one of two dozen Russian nationals whose assets have been frozen by the UK government in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
IWM will keep a donation made by Abramovich in 2018, according to reports first published in The Guardian newspaper.
The charity sought advice from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport after the government sanctioned Abramovich, who has ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The donation, of an undisclosed sum, was used towards a £30m upgrade of the charity’s Holocaust Galleries and Second World War Galleries, part of IWM’s “masterplan” to transform the museums. The galleries opened to the public last year.
Abramovich has been disqualified by the Premier League as the director of Chelsea Football Club as part of sanctions against him. The football club also held a fundraiser in 2018 to raise further funds for the charity.
A spokesperson for the charity said: “IWM did consult with the DCMS to ensure that we are compliant with government sanctions. The decision was taken by IWM to retain the funds.
“As this was a private donation, IWM is not disclosing the amount donated by Roman Abramovich to the new galleries.”