Investigation Links Deloitte Cyprus to Falsified Documents Hiding Abramovich Wealth

According to BBC News World, a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has uncovered evidence suggesting that Deloitte Cyprus helped falsify financial documents to conceal Roman Abramovich’s wealth and facilitate tax evasion. The findings, based on a massive leak of financial records, detail how backdated paperwork was used over nearly two decades to move assets and manipulate company accounts.

According to the report, accounting practices enabled assets including superyachts, private jets, and luxury properties—valued at $672 million—to disappear from the records of Abramovich's Cypriot company, Amiscan Investments. To circumvent transparency laws introduced in Cyprus in 2006, associates reportedly backdated asset transfers to a British Virgin Islands-based parent company by three years. Deloitte Cyprus reviewed these documents and deemed them sufficient to justify the removal of the assets from the final accounts.

Evidence also suggests the firm advised on schemes to evade taxes on interest income. In one instance involving the company Kravin Investments, records were backdated to suggest the firm did not own nearly $2 billion in funds, thereby avoiding tax liabilities in Cyprus. Andrew Mitchell KC, an expert in financial services law, characterized the actions as "straightforward" tax evasion, stating that if such conduct occurred in the United Kingdom, it would likely warrant a criminal prosecution.

Additional documents show that another firm-administered company, Electus Investments, had $10 billion in assets obscured through similar methods of backdating records to transfer beneficial ownership to a BVI-based entity. The investigation was conducted as part of the broader "Cyprus Confidential" project, involving media partners such as the Guardian and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

In response to the allegations, Roman Abramovich’s legal representatives stated that he denies evading tax or concealing his fortune. They maintained that he was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the companies and that it was legitimate to rely on the advice of professional experts. Deloitte Cyprus stated that it "acts in compliance with applicable laws" and noted that it could not comment on specific allegations regarding documents that are more than 20 years old. MeritServus, the corporate services firm that administered the network, ceased operations following the initial release of the leaked files.