Cyprus police open investigation into Roman Abramovich's financial affairs

Police in Cyprus have opened an investigation into the financial affairs of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, a Cypriot Ministry of Justice official told MPs this week. The announcement was made at a parliamentary committee meeting in Nicosia on combating and preventing money laundering, and follows a joint investigation by the BBC and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) published earlier this month.

The report alleged that accountancy firm Deloitte helped falsify documents to hide Abramovich's wealth and evade tax. Lawyers for Abramovich deny he evaded tax or concealed his fortune. Deloitte Cyprus said it acts "in compliance with applicable laws".

The Ministry of Justice official said the findings would be examined by the police's Financial Intelligence Unit as part of a new investigation. The unit will try to determine whether any criminal acts were committed. A police representative, Andreas Anastasiades, confirmed to MPs that the Financial Crime Unit had already begun gathering evidence and said the investigation was expected to last several months. Asked by the BBC whether Deloitte's work would be examined, he 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."

What the report alleged

The BBC and TBIJ report described how accounts signed off by Deloitte in Cyprus in 2006 meant assets including superyachts, mansions and private jets worth $672m (£508m) disappeared from Abramovich's company accounts. Deloitte, the world's largest accountancy firm, also appeared to have advised on a scheme to evade a large tax bill through falsifying documents, the report said. The evidence came from leaked files, including thousands of documents about Abramovich's finances and a network of offshore companies administered from Cyprus between 1995 and 2022. The BBC and partners including TBIJ, the Guardian, Paper Trail Media, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and Cyprus Investigative Reporting Network have reported on the files since 2023 as part of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists' Cyprus Confidential investigation.

Denials and previous case

Lawyers for Abramovich say Panorama has provided no evidence that the billionaire knew about, authorised or directed the falsification of any document. They also say it was legitimate for his companies to rely on advice from professionals. Deloitte Cyprus said it could not comment because the documents are more than 20 years old and no longer accessible. 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. After that report, two former company directors were indicted and are due to stand trial in Cyprus next month over €25m in unpaid VAT. Abramovich's lawyers have previously told the BBC that he "always obtained independent expert professional tax and legal advice" and "acted in accordance" with it.

Source: BBC World.