Documents falsified to evade tax on Abramovich's wealth
BBC Panorama and investigative journalists reveal Deloitte in Cyprus helped sign off fake accounts hiding $672m in yachts and mansions.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Deloitte in Cyprus helped sign off falsified accounts to hide $672m of Roman Abramovich's wealth.
- Luxury assets like mansions and superyachts vanished from company accounts using backdated paperwork to dodge a 2006 transparency law.
- Lawyers for Abramovich denied tax evasion and stated there is no evidence he knew about or directed any document falsification.
- Deloitte Cyprus maintained that the firm acts in compliance with all applicable laws.
A joint investigation by BBC Panorama and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has uncovered that the world's largest accountancy firm assisted in falsifying documents to conceal the immense wealth and evade taxes of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
Accounts signed off by Deloitte in Cyprus effectively caused assets including superyachts, sprawling mansions, and private jets worth $672 million, or approximately 508 million pounds, to vanish from Abramovich's company records.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Furthermore, Deloitte appears to have advised on a scheme aimed at dodging massive tax liabilities through fabricated paperwork. Dating back to 2006, after a new Cyprus transparency law threatened to expose his vast wealth, associates and the corporate services firm MeritServus in Limassol planned to transfer assets from Amiscan Investments to a parent company in the British Virgin Islands, backdating the change by three years to 2003.
The utilization of Cyprus-based offshore networks has historically been a favored strategy for wealthy individuals seeking tax optimization and privacy. The tightening of transparency regulations in 2006 disrupted these secretive holding structures, eventually bringing these hidden financial operations to light through massive leaks like the Cyprus Confidential investigation.
In another instance involving Kravin Investments, which held nearly $2 billion in bank deposits in 2003 and generated substantial interest income subject to local taxation, MeritServus generated backdated documents claiming the funds were merely held on behalf of a BVI parent company to sidestep Cyprus tax obligations.
"acts in compliance with applicable laws"
Deloitte Cyprus
Legal representatives for Roman Abramovich denied that he evaded taxes or concealed his fortune, noting that Panorama provided zero evidence proving he had knowledge of, authorized, or directed any document forgery, and emphasized that relying on professional advice is legitimate. Meanwhile, Deloitte Cyprus stated that the organization operates in strict adherence to legal frameworks.
Source: BBC World
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