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Police in Cyprus have opened an investigation into Roman Abramovich’s financial affairs after a BBC Panorama report said accountancy firm “Deloitte” helped falsify documents to conceal his wealth and evade tax, the BBC reported.
A Cypriot Ministry of Justice official told MPs this week that the report’s findings would be examined by the police Financial Intelligence Unit. The inquiry was announced at a parliamentary committee meeting in Nicosia on combating and preventing money laundering.
The official said police would seek to establish whether any criminal acts had been committed. Andreas Anastasiades, representing the Cypriot police, told MPs that the Financial Crime Unit had begun gathering evidence and expected the investigation to last several months.
Asked by the BBC whether investigators would examine “Deloitte’s” work, Anastasiades said: “We will look at any company or person who may be involved.” He added: “We will see if there has been fraud or if some documents have been manipulated.”
Report details alleged falsification of company accounts
A joint report by the BBC and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), published earlier this month, raised questions about the integrity of some of Abramovich’s professional advisers. It said accounts signed off by “Deloitte” in Cyprus in 2006 led assets worth $672m (£508m), including superyachts, mansions and private jets, to disappear from Abramovich’s company accounts.
The report also said “Deloitte”, the world’s largest accountancy firm, appeared to have advised on a scheme to evade a substantial tax bill on Abramovich’s wealth through falsified documents. The evidence came from leaked files, including thousands of documents on his finances and a network of offshore companies administered from Cyprus between 1995 and 2022.
The BBC and media partners, including TBIJ, “The Guardian”, “Paper Trail Media”, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Cyprus Investigative Reporting Network, have reported on the files since 2023 as part of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ “Cyprus Confidential” investigation.
Abramovich’s lawyers say he denies evading tax or concealing his fortune. They say “Panorama” has provided no evidence that he knew about, authorised or directed the falsification of documents, and that it was legitimate for his companies to rely on professional advice.
His lawyers have previously told the BBC that he had “always obtained independent expert professional tax and legal advice” and “acted in accordance” with it. “Deloitte Cyprus” said it could not comment because the documents were more than 20 years old and were no longer accessible. The firm said it acts “in compliance with applicable laws”.
The BBC and TBIJ have previously reported on a tax scheme that allowed Abramovich to avoid millions in tax on the running costs of his yachts. Following that report, two former company directors were indicted and are due to stand trial in Cyprus next month over €25m in unpaid VAT.
