What changed
Documents and company accounts allegedly concealed $672m in Roman Abramovich-linked assets, including superyachts, mansions and private jets, and helped reduce a major tax bill. Deloitte Cyprus signed off accounts in which those assets disappeared, while the offshore companies involved were administered through Cyprus between 1995 and 2022.
Why it matters
This puts professional advisers, not just one wealthy owner, at the centre of the story. Deloitte Cyprus once owned MeritServus, the Limassol firm that administered Abramovich’s offshore network, and the two companies continued working closely after separating.
The reported structure shows how wealth can become difficult to see even when accountants and corporate-service firms are handling the paperwork. That matters because the assets were not merely hard to locate: they were reported as absent from company accounts.
The financial consequences remain live. £5.4bn of Abramovich-linked assets are frozen in Jersey, where a criminal investigation has continued for four years. The legal status of the allegations, and whether authorities establish liability, remain unresolved.
Abramovich’s lawyers deny that he evaded tax or authorised falsification, saying there is no evidence he knew about, directed or approved any document changes. Deloitte Cyprus says it acts in compliance with applicable laws.
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