{"id":800167,"date":"2026-10-12T12:38:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T12:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/800167\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T12:38:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T12:38:15","slug":"roman-abramovich-aides-falsified-paperwork-to-disguise-assets-and-dodge-tax-records-suggest-roman-abramovich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/800167\/","title":{"rendered":"Roman Abramovich aides falsified paperwork to disguise assets and dodge tax, records suggest | Roman Abramovich"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aides of Roman Abramovich<\/a> \u2013 including staff at the global accountancy firm Deloitte \u2013 falsified paperwork mapping the oligarch\u2019s sprawling offshore business empire, records suggest, helping his businesses dodge tax and disguise assets.<\/p>\n

New analysis of leaked corporate records uncovers what appears to have been a long-running and carefully orchestrated strategy of backdating documents.<\/p>\n

The Russian billionaire\u2019s closest aide, London-based Eugene Tenenbaum, appears to have been involved in the backdating and may also have given false evidence to the UK high court during a potentially costly lawsuit, the papers indicate.<\/p>\n

Abramovich\u2019s personal and financial affairs are now restricted, owing to sanctions imposed by the UK and EU in response to Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n

But the documents raise questions about how Abramovich was able to shield his financial affairs from the authorities for more than a decade, with the apparent assistance of apparatchiks and blue-chip advisers.<\/p>\n

The findings are based on the Cyprus Confidential leak<\/a>, more than 500,000 documents, first released to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and analysed by organisations including the Guardian, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the BBC.<\/p>\n

Eugene Tenenbaum with Roman Abramovich at a Chelsea FC match. Photograph: Matthew Ashton\/Corbis\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The digital paper trail charts the reorganisation of billions of pounds that the former Chelsea FC owner obtained via the controversial acquisition of oilfields in the frozen wastes of Siberia, amid the break-up of the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

From 1999 until at least 2013, a cadre of aides and accountants tasked with shifting the funds between offshore jurisdictions deployed tactics that experts say may have constituted fraud and tax evasion.<\/p>\n

This, it seems, involved backdating documents to create a convenient paper trail showing that agreements and transactions had taken place years earlier.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for Abramovich denied any wrongdoing and said he relied on the advice of his advisers and Deloitte Cyprus. Tenenbaum denied any wrongdoing and said he also relied on the specialist advice given by Deloitte Cyprus. Deloitte Cyprus said that it \u201cacts in compliance with all applicable laws\u201d and that it could no longer access the relevant material because of the time that has elapsed.<\/p>\n

The disappearing $2bn<\/p>\n

A crown jewel in Russia\u2019s rich seam of natural resources, Sibneft\u2019s oilfields fell into Abramovich\u2019s hands during the chaotic post-Soviet privatisation era.<\/p>\n

The famously shrewd entrepreneur obtained the business for roughly $250m, reportedly spending as little as $19m of his own money.<\/p>\n

By the time he sold the last of his shares to Gazprom in 2005, Abramovich had raised $16bn, money he ploughed into investments, mansions, superyachts and Chelsea FC.<\/p>\n

One Cyprus-based company, Kravin Investments, was among several early vehicles through which that cash flowed. Kravin received a $3bn windfall in May 2003, of which it retained about $2bn.<\/p>\n

The money sat in Kravin\u2019s bank account or was loaned to other companies, accruing interest that was, in theory, taxable in Cyprus.<\/p>\n

But Abramovich\u2019s aides soon began devising plans to \u201celiminate\u201d a tax liability that one financial adviser warned could be \u201cvery large\u201d, records suggest.<\/p>\n

Demetris Ioannides was the chair of Deloitte Cyprus before spinning out Meritservus. Photograph: No Credit<\/p>\n

The gatekeeper to Abramovich\u2019s fortune was Demetris Ioannides, who was the chair of Deloitte Cyprus before spinning out his own business Meritservus. That firm became Abramovich\u2019s go-to financial advisory, serving him for nearly 20 years, before it was sanctioned by the UK in 2023<\/a>, along with Ioannides, for its role helping Russian oligarch hide their wealth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be necessary to change the [Kravin\u2019s] financial statements and the accounting records accordingly for 2003 and 2004,\u201d Ioannides wrote in an August 2005 email, citing discussions with Deloitte Cyprus partners and erstwhile colleagues Antonis Taliotis and Nicos Charalambous.<\/p>\n

The following month, in an email copying in staff at Meritservus and Abramovich\u2019s investment vehicle, Millhouse, Taliotis appeared to agree.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertain changes will have to be made to the accounts [\u2026]\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

An August 2005 email from Demetris Ioannides. Photograph: –<\/p>\n

Millhouse and Meritservus duly began producing paperwork showing that Kravin was simply holding and investing the Sibneft billions as a trustee for another business, the British Virgin Islands-based Kelvedon Worldwide.<\/p>\n

Documents detailing this supposed fact, including correspondence and trust agreements, were given dates between March and December 2003, despite being created at least two years later.<\/p>\n

The result was simple: although the billions had sat in Kravin\u2019s accounts for years, it now appeared that the money had never really been Kravin\u2019s at all. Deloitte Cyprus, apparently aware of the deception, duly signed off the accounts.<\/p>\n

History had effectively been rewritten, analysis of the documents suggests, disappearing $2bn from Kravin\u2019s balance sheet \u2013 and with it any tax liability.<\/p>\n

Andrew Mitchell KC, a leading expert in financial crime and tax law, described the scheme as a \u201cblatant move to protect from legitimate taxation assets which should otherwise have been subject to tax\u201d. This, he claimed, would amount to \u201cstraightforward\u201d tax evasion.<\/p>\n

Abramovich\u2019s lawyers said: \u201cAny suggestion that our client evaded tax, or sought to deceive the Cypriot authorities, is denied, and publication of the same would be defamatory of him. If an arrangement was proposed by professional advisers of Deloitte\u2019s standing, it would have been entirely proper for companies linked to our client (in which he was not involved on a day-to-day basis) to rely on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The oligarch\u2019s signature<\/p>\n

It was not the first time that Abramovich\u2019s subordinates appear to have resorted to backdating to solve a money problem for their boss.<\/p>\n

In 2000, Tenenbaum and Ioannides, then still working for Deloitte Cyprus, met in London to discuss a delicate matter.<\/p>\n

Abramovich, it seemed, wanted to extract almost $100m from Cypriot companies that held stakes in Sibneft.<\/p>\n

According to Ioannides, it was essential that any transaction couldn\u2019t reveal these Cyprus companies and that the money had to appear \u201cearned\u201d. The logic for these conditions was not explained.<\/p>\n

Deloitte Cyprus\u2019s solution was a complicated but seemingly bogus arrangement, directly involving Abramovich, that appears to have relied on falsified, backdated consultancy agreements.<\/p>\n

These agreements appeared to show that Abramovich\u2019s Sibneft-owning companies had paid an intermediary business $98m for \u201cconsultancy services\u201d, namely advice on share purchases.<\/p>\n

That intermediary had then supposedly passed on 99.9% of the money to Abramovich, as \u201ccommission\u201d for having acted as its \u201cagent\u201d.<\/p>\n

But the share purchases in question had already happened a year earlier, meaning the intermediary company had to be at least a year old too, if backdated deals involving it were to appear legitimate.<\/p>\n

Ioannides found a suitable Cypriot off-the-shelf company called PB Mediapower Enterprises.<\/p>\n

With Tenenbaum\u2019s authorisation, directors of Deloitte Cyprus signed the backdated documents and incorporated their content into PB Mediapower\u2019s annual accounts.<\/p>\n

Abramovich\u2019s commission was then converted into promissory notes \u2013 effectively IOUs \u2013 which he cashed in over the following three years.<\/p>\n

An application for repayment of a promissory note issued by PB Mediapower in 2000. Photograph: –<\/p>\n

The leaked files contain 50 such notes. Unlike much of the paper trail tracing the Abramovich fortune, which kept his name out of it, each of the applications for repayment of the notes bore his signature.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for Abramovich and Tenenbaum denied that they had participated in any improper backdating or falsification of documents. Both also stressed that they relied on specialist advice from professional advisers such as Deloitte Cyprus as well as Cypriot corporate advisers.<\/p>\n

The ghost house<\/p>\n

One of Abramovich\u2019s most prestigious assets was the Fyning Hill estate in West Sussex, an imposing mansion set in 424 acres of South Downs countryside.<\/p>\n

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, reportedly flew in for lunch here during his first UK state visit in 2003.<\/p>\n

Two years later, accounts show, the estate was listed among $650m of luxury assets \u2013 including a London penthouse, French chateau, helicopters, jets, yachts and a supercar \u2013 all held in a Cypriot company, Amiscan Investments.<\/p>\n

New Cypriot disclosure rules, introduced in 2003, meant that these would have to be included in Amiscan\u2019s accounts.<\/p>\n

But by the time those accounts were filed, this vast billionaire\u2019s toybox had vanished, thanks to Abramovich\u2019s squad of financial fixers.<\/p>\n

In an October 2005 email, sent to Tenenbaum, Ioannides suggested it might be \u201cmore prudent not to disclose\u201d them.<\/p>\n

An October 2005 email from Demetris Ioannides to Eugene Tenenbaum. Photograph: –<\/p>\n

Files show that Abramovich aides, including Ioannides, worked together to backdate contractual agreements, giving the false impression that Amiscan\u2019s assets had been shifted to its BVI shareholder, Kelvedon Worldwide, at the start of 2003.<\/p>\n

Deloitte Cyprus staff took part in discussions about this disappearing act, emails show.<\/p>\n

Yet the auditor signed off Amiscan\u2019s accounts, now showing no trace of three properties and a fleet of luxury vehicles.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for Abramovich and Tenenbaum denied wrongdoing of any sort, including improper backdating, falsification, or any sort of tax evasion. They each also said that their clients could not recall the context or detail of documents more than 20 years old, which had not been provided to them by the Guardian.<\/p>\n

Both said their clients had relied on expert advice, including from Deloitte Cyprus. Deloitte Cyprus, also answering on behalf of Taliotis and Charalambous, said that it \u201cacts in compliance with applicable laws\u201d. It said the correspondence were more than 20 years old and no longer accessible, meaning it could not comment on whether the material was complete or accurate.<\/p>\n

A view of central Limassol in Cyprus, with the offices of MeritServus on the left of the picture. Photograph: Hernandez Jose Maria\/Alamy<\/p>\n

A lawyer for Demetris Ioannides said he was unable to comment for personal reasons.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for Tenenbaum said that documents could sometimes be backdated for legitimate reasons, such as to show when a transaction became effective.<\/p>\n

Rachel Sexton, a forensic accountant experienced in fraud investigations, agreed that this was possible but added: \u201cFrom the evidence I have seen, this does not appear to be the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said backdating documents to create a false impression \u201ccould be considered to be fraudulent misrepresentation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two more accounting experts, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the files did not appear to show legitimate reasons for backdating.<\/p>\n

Mitchell raised concerns about Deloitte\u2019s apparent role in the tactic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you take away from it is that there are professionals who are prepared to bend and break the rules of their profession and therefore the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one instance, backdating appears to have led to something else very serious: the misleading of a British court.<\/p>\n

Abramovich\u2019s Sibneft deals made him Russia\u2019s richest man. Photograph: Alexander Natruskin\/ReutersThe whole truth<\/p>\n

In 2008, Abramovich faced the prospect of a potentially costly lawsuit from Moscow businessman Chalva Tchigrinski, a former partner in their joint oil venture, Sibneft-Yugra.<\/p>\n

The partnership ended with Tchigrinski\u2019s company, Sibir, ousted and left with nothing, leaving Abramovich free to sign the Sibneft deals that would make him Russia\u2019s richest man.<\/p>\n

Tchigrinski\u2019s lawyers claimed foul play.<\/p>\n

Abramovich, they claimed, had diluted his partner\u2019s stake via a series of secret meetings that gave him full control and, as a result, the full financial benefit of the eventual sale to Gazprom.<\/p>\n

In a witness statement, Tenenbaum denied any knowledge of the project\u2019s details before spring 2004, when Sibir\u2019s made its complaints public.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have searched my files, emails and documents from 2002 to 2004,\u201d he told the court, \u201cand I can confirm that I have in my possession no records or documents or other communications that relate to Sibneft-Yugra.\u201d<\/p>\n

Files from the Cyprus Confidential<\/a> leak appear to contradict this testimony.<\/p>\n

They show that Tenenbaum signed off on a string of agreements governing some of the very deals he claimed in court to know nothing about.<\/p>\n

They include the 2003 transfer of Sibneft-Yugra shares to an Abramovich-owned company called Ferenco Investment & Services, something Tenenbaum had told the court he knew nothing about.<\/p>\n

His testimony, according to the judgment, was \u201ccorroborated by\u201d evidence submitted by Abramovich. The Guardian has not seen this evidence.<\/p>\n

What is more, documents submitted to the court in support of Abramovich\u2019s case, which purported to justify Sibneft\u2019s takeover of Sibir, appear to have been backdated.<\/p>\n

In other words, the documents \u2013 like Tenenbaum\u2019s testimony \u2013 appear to have been false.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for Tenenbaum denied that his testimony misled the court, saying he had given evidence \u201chonestly and in good faith\u201d and denied \u201cin the strongest terms\u201d misleading the court. Lawyers for Abramovich denied that his corroboration of Tenenbaum\u2019s testimony had misled the court.<\/p>\n

All in all, analysis of the Cyprus files suggest that more than 1,000 documents pertaining to the Abramovich empire were backdated.<\/p>\n

Often, it appears, this took place with the knowledge of those closest to the oligarch.<\/p>\n

Between them, that inner circle constructed a globe-spanning financial empire whose most important currency was, it seems, deceit.<\/p>\n

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