Key facts
- Deloitte Cyprus allegedly falsified documents to help Roman Abramovich hide $672 million in assets and evade tax.
- Assets such as superyachts, mansions, and private jets worth $672 million vanished from Abramovich's company accounts.
- Deloitte Cyprus and its spin-off Meritservus falsified over 1,000 corporate records, backdating them by up to five years.
- The scheme created a false paper trail for over 100 companies, with Deloitte signing off accounts as "true and fair".
- Roman Abramovich's lawyers deny he evaded tax or concealed his fortune, stating there is no evidence he knew about or authorized the falsification of documents.
- Deloitte Cyprus stated it "acts in compliance with applicable laws".
Deloitte Cyprus allegedly fabricated corporate documents, including fake timestamps, to help Roman Abramovich conceal at least $10 billion in assets and evade millions in tax, according to a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The scheme involved hiding assets such as superyachts, mansions, and private jets worth $672 million from Abramovich's company accounts.
Leaked documents reveal that Deloitte staff used fake timestamps to rewrite the historical record for over 1,000 corporate records for more than 100 companies, sometimes backdating them by as much as five years. Deloitte then signed off many of these companies' accounts as "true and fair," relying on the fabricated documents. Experts described the scheme as "straightforward and blatant" tax evasion.
Roman Abramovich's lawyers stated that he denies evading tax or concealing his fortune and that there is no evidence he knew about, authorized, or directed the falsification of any document. They also claimed it was legitimate to rely on professional advice. Deloitte Cyprus responded by saying it "acts in compliance with applicable laws."
The investigation, part of the Cyprus Confidential project, examined financial documents related to Abramovich's offshore companies administered from Cyprus between 1995 and 2022. Deloitte previously owned MeritServus, the corporate services firm that administered many of Abramovich's offshore companies, and the two entities worked closely together.