Leaked records suggest Abramovich aides backdated paperwork to reduce tax liabilities
Leaked records suggest aides to Roman Abramovich, with apparent involvement from Deloitte Cyprus staff, backdated paperwork to disguise the movement of his offshore assets and reduce tax liabilities. The documents raise questions about how his financial affairs remained shielded from authorities for more than a decade, and whether the conduct may have amounted to fraud or tax evasion.
The findings draw on the Cyprus Confidential leak of more than 500,000 documents, covering activity from 1999 to at least 2013. One company, Kravin Investments, received a $3bn windfall in 2003 and retained about $2bn, which generated interest that could have been taxable in Cyprus. Abramovich’s lawyers, aide Eugene Tenenbaum and Deloitte Cyprus denied wrongdoing or said they had relied on advice and complied with the law; the article says the relevant material is no longer accessible to Deloitte Cyprus.
- Leaked records suggest Abramovich’s aides backdated offshore financial paperwork.
- A $3bn payment to Kravin Investments raised potential tax liabilities in Cyprus.
- Abramovich, Tenenbaum and Deloitte Cyprus denied wrongdoing or cited reliance on advice.
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Roman Abramovich is a wealthy Russian businessman who accumulated a vast fortune during Russia's transition to a market economy in the 1990s. He has become prominent internationally through his ownership of Chelsea Football Club and other high-profile investments.
A major leak of confidential documents called Cyprus Confidential contains over 500,000 records from 1999 to 2013 showing how wealthy individuals moved money through companies registered in Cyprus. The leaked records suggest that associates of Abramovich, including staff at accountancy firm Deloitte, deliberately altered dates on paperwork to disguise the movement of his assets and reduce tax bills owed to Cyprus.
The allegations suggest that Abramovich's financial affairs may have been deliberately hidden from tax authorities using professionally-advised schemes. The findings raise questions about whether such conduct amounted to serious crimes like fraud or tax evasion, and how these activities apparently went undetected for more than a decade.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Roman Abramovich aides falsified paperwork to disguise assets and dodge tax, records suggest”.