BBC reports $672 million of Abramovich’s assets disappeared from accounts — BBC News
In Cyprus, Deloitte Cyprus signed off on the accounts of a company linked to Roman Abramovich, from which $672 million in assets had disappeared. This is stated in a joint investigation by BBC News, BBC Panorama and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. According to journalists, the assets included yachts, real estate, private jets and helicopters.
Assets in Amiscan’s accounts
According to the investigation, in 2006, after Cyprus introduced a requirement to disclose corporate accounts, Abramovich’s advisers and the company MeritServus decided to arrange the transfer of the assets of Cyprus-based Amiscan Investments to its parent structure in the British Virgin Islands. The documents were backdated to 2003.
Deloitte Cyprus reviewed these documents and considered them sufficient to remove the assets from Amiscan’s accounts, the BBC reports. After the 2003 accounts were signed in 2006, the company had assets worth only $75,000 remaining. Lord Sikka, a professor of accounting at the University of Sheffield, said that incorrectly stating the dates of transactions and failing to publish accurate accounts could constitute a breach of a statutory duty.
Tax documents
The investigation also concerns Kravin Investments, another Cypriot company which had almost $2 billion in bank accounts in 2003. According to leaked documents, MeritServus, after a meeting with Deloitte, proposed changing financial and accounting records for 2003 and 2004.
According to the journalists’ account, the documents were intended to create the impression that Kravin merely held and invested funds on behalf of its parent company in the British Virgin Islands. This could mean that the company would not have to pay tax in Cyprus on interest income. Barrister Andrew Mitchell KC, who specialises in financial services law, called the scheme described by the BBC direct tax evasion.
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The BBC also reported on documents concerning Electus Investments. According to the investigation, they created the impression that assets worth more than $10 billion had belonged since 2003 to a structure in the British Virgin Islands rather than to the Cypriot company.
Positions of the parties
Lawyers for Abramovich denied that he had evaded taxes or concealed wealth. They said that he was not involved in the day-to-day management of the companies, did not know about, authorise or instruct the falsification of documents, and that relying on professional advice was lawful.
Deloitte Cyprus said it acts in accordance with applicable law. The company also said it could not comment on the specific allegations because the documents are more than 20 years old and are no longer available.
Abramovich was sanctioned by the United Kingdom after Russia, an aggressor state, launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and was forced to sell the Chelsea football club. His assets worth £5.4 billion have been frozen on the island of Jersey, and a criminal investigation has been ongoing for four years.
