Deloitte Cyprus Helped Falsify Documents for Abramovich, BBC Finds
Chateau de la Croe (top left) in the south of France, Fyning Hill in Sussex and two superyachts vanished from company accounts.
Deloitte Cyprus helped falsify documents to hide Roman Abramovich assets, BBC investigation finds
Accounting firm Deloitte helped falsify documents to conceal the fortune of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and evade tax payments, according to a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Company accounts signed off by Deloitte in Cyprus allowed assets valued at $672m (£508m), including private jets, luxury mansions, and superyachts, to be removed from Abramovich's corporate financial statements.
Investigators found that Deloitte appeared to advise on a arrangement designed to evade tax obligations on the businessman's wealth by using falsified documentation.
Commenting on the findings, Andrew Mitchell KC, a barrister specialising in financial services law, stated that the evidence demonstrated "straightforward" tax evasion and added that "it couldn't be more blatant."
Lawyers representing Roman Abramovich denied that he evaded tax or concealed his wealth. They stated that Panorama presented no evidence that Abramovich was aware of, authorised, or directed the falsification of any documents, noting that relying on professional advice is legitimate practice.
Deloitte Cyprus responded to the findings by stating that the firm "acts in compliance with applicable laws."
Offshore structures and ongoing asset freezes
The findings stem from leaked records covering thousands of documents related to Abramovich's finances and offshore corporate networks operated out of Cyprus between 1995 and 2022.
The records were evaluated as part of the broader Cyprus Confidential investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, alongside media organisations including the BBC, the Guardian, Paper Trail Media, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, the Cyprus Investigative Reporting Network, and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Abramovich owned Chelsea Football Club following his purchase of the London team in 2003 until 2022, when the UK government sanctioned him as an associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine, forcing the sale of the club.
The businessman has reportedly been residing in Turkey, which has not imposed sanctions against him. In Jersey, approximately £5.4bn of his assets remain frozen amid a four year criminal investigation. Abramovich's legal representatives told the BBC that he denies the allegations involved in the Jersey inquiry, claiming the investigation was
"undertaken for political purposes."
Profits generated from Abramovich's Russian oil ventures were directed into offshore corporate structures managed in Limassol, Cyprus, by corporate services provider MeritServus.
Source: BBC