Ex-Chelsea owner Abramovich denies tax fraud after BBC report

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich denied allegations of tax fraud, his lawyers said Tuesday, after a BBC investigation alleged that documents were falsified to conceal his wealth and help one of his companies evade tax.

“No evidence has been provided that Mr Abramovich knew of, authorised or directed the falsification or backdating of any document, and he denies that he evaded tax or concealed his fortune,” said the law firm representing Abramovich, Kobre & Kim.

“Mr Abramovich denies any wrongdoing. He was not involved in the day-to-day operation of the companies concerned,” his lawyers added in a statement sent to AFP.

The BBC reported on Monday that superyachts, private jets and mansions worth $672 million disappeared from Abramovich’s company accounts, which were signed off by accounting firm Deloitte in Cyprus in 2006.

The BBC’s current affairs programme Panorama also reported that Abramovich’s associates hid the fortunes of two of his other companies, worth nearly $2 billion and more than $10 billion, respectively, from Cypriot authorities.

In all three cases, documents were backdated with the involvement of MeritServus, a company that is now closed and was owned by Deloitte until 2005, the BBC reported.

Deloitte is one of the world’s four largest accounting firms, known as the “Big Four”.

The BBC based its reporting on a leak of documents covering the period from 1995 to 2022.

Deloitte’s Cyprus branch told AFP it “acts in compliance with applicable laws”, but declined to comment further.

The Guardian reported in 2023 that Abramovich had tried to shield his wealth by transferring several billion dollars to his children just before he was targeted by sanctions in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Britain sanctioned the oligarch for his close ties to the Kremlin and froze his assets.

The businessman was forced to sell Chelsea football club, which he had owned since 2003, and which was bought in May 2022 by a new consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly.

The proceeds of the sale, totalling around £2.5 billion ($3.3 billion), were frozen in a British bank account.

The UK government wants the funds to be directed towards humanitarian purposes in Ukraine, but the oligarch has insisted they be used for all victims of the conflict, including ones in Russia.