Deloitte’s Cyprus Office Helped Abramovich Firms Relocate Billions in Assets in Apparent Bid to Sidestep Tax and Transparency

An investigation by OCCRP, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Cyprus Investigative Reporting Network, based on leaked emails and financial records, reports that Deloitte’s Cyprus affiliate signed off on backdated paperwork for companies beneficially owned by Roman Abramovich.

According to the reporting, the documents allowed assets including bank deposits, yachts and luxury property to be treated as having been transferred retroactively from Cyprus companies to entities in the British Virgin Islands, outside the reach of Cypriot tax and disclosure rules. In one case cited, financial statements were certified to show a Cyprus company had offloaded assets worth close to $700 million.

Deloitte Cyprus said it acts in compliance with applicable laws and declined to comment further. Abramovich’s lawyers deny wrongdoing. Following publication, Cyprus’s audit oversight body said it was examining the matter. The case is a reminder of the gatekeeper risk posed by professional enablers such as auditors and corporate service providers.

Article Credit: https://www.occrp.org/en/project/cyprus-confidential/deloittes-office-in-cyprus-helped-abramovich-firms-relocate-billions-of-dollars-in-assets-in-apparent-bid-to-sidestep-tax-and-transparency