Deloitte Cyprus signed off on falsified financial accounts that hid $672m in assets belonging to Roman Abramovich, according to BBC Panorama's joint investigation with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The accounts, which Deloitte reviewed and approved in 2006, removed luxury properties, yachts, jets and helicopters from public disclosure by backdating a transfer to an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands by three years.
The leaked documents show Deloitte knew the accounts were "completely misleading" yet signed off on them anyway, according to Panorama's reporting. The firm also appears to have advised on a broader scheme to evade tax through document falsification. Barrister Andrew Mitchell KC, an expert in financial services law, told the BBC the evidence showed "straightforward" tax evasion that "couldn't be more blatant."
Lord Sikka, professor of accounting at the University of Sheffield, said the practice amounted to a "violation of a statutory duty" and was "pretty scandalous" because it breached requirements to publish true and fair accounts. The investigation also found evidence of backdated documents in a separate tax evasion scheme involving another Cypriot company, Kravin Investments, which held almost $2bn.
Abramovich's lawyers denied he evaded tax or concealed his fortune. They stated Panorama provided no evidence he knew about, authorised or directed any document falsification and said it was legitimate to rely on professional advice. Deloitte Cyprus said it "acts in compliance with applicable laws."
The leaked documents span 1995 to 2022 and cover Abramovich's network of offshore companies administered from Cyprus, where Russia's wealthy historically used tax havens. Deloitte owned the corporate services firm MeritServus, which administered Abramovich's accounts, until 2005. The two companies then worked closely together on the oligarch's financial operations. Panorama's investigation is part of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists' Cyprus Confidential project, published since 2023 across multiple media partners including the Guardian and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
Abramovich, sanctioned by the UK government as an associate of President Vladimir Putin after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, was forced to sell Chelsea Football Club. He is reported to be living in Turkey. A criminal investigation in Jersey, where $5.4bn of his assets remain frozen, has been ongoing for four years.