A BBC Panorama investigation, conducted in collaboration with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, found that Deloitte Cyprus assisted in falsifying financial documents to conceal Roman Abramovich's wealth. The investigation revealed that accounts signed off by Deloitte for Abramovich's Cypriot company Amiscan Investments had been altered to remove assets worth $672 million, including luxury properties in West Sussex, London, and the south of France, as well as helicopters, private jets, and yachts such as the $147.5 million Pelorus superyacht.
This image shows the high-value assets that were removed from Abramovich's company accounts to hide his wealth, as detailed in the BBC investigation.
To evade Cyprus transparency laws that took effect in 2006, Abramovich's associates and the corporate services firm MeritServus (which Deloitte owned until 2005) devised a scheme to transfer these assets to Amiscan's parent company in the British Virgin Islands and backdate the transfer by three years to make it appear it had occurred in 2003. Deloitte Cyprus reviewed the backdated documents and deemed them 'adequate' to allow the removal of the assets from Amiscan's accounts, subsequently signing off the 2003 accounts in 2006 despite knowing the documents were misleading.
This image demonstrates the backdating scheme used to move Abramovich's assets to a British Virgin Islands entity, as described in the article.
The investigation also uncovered a tax evasion scheme involving Abramovich's company Kravin Investments, where MeritServus, after a meeting with Deloitte, created backdated documents to falsely show the company held no income from interest, thereby avoiding tax liabilities in Cyprus, with Deloitte advising in a September 2005 email that changes to financial records would be necessary. Additionally, records for Electus Investments, which held over $10 billion of Abramovich's fortune, were falsified by backdating to make it appear the assets were owned by a BVI entity. Deloitte Cyprus stated it could not comment on the specific allegations due to the age of the documents, while Abramovich's lawyers denied wrongdoing, asserting he relied on professional advice.
This image illustrates the advice from Deloitte to modify financial statements, supporting the claim of a tax evasion scheme involving backdated documents.