Police in Cyprus have launched an investigation into reports that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich may have evaded taxes with help from the accounting firm Deloitte. A Cypriot Justice Ministry official told a parliamentary committee meeting on combating money laundering that the investigation was underway, the BBC reported.
The police financial crime unit is conducting the investigation.
“We will look at any company or person who may be involved. We will see if there has been fraud or if some documents have been manipulated,” Cypriot police spokesman Andreas Anastasiades told the BBC.
The BBC, The Guardian, and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) previously published investigations reporting that Deloitte, one of the world’s largest consulting and accounting firms, helped falsify documents to conceal Abramovich’s wealth and help him evade taxes. According to the journalists, Deloitte’s Cyprus division helped him conceal $672 million in assets, including mansions, yachts, and private jets.
Abramovich’s lawyers denied any wrongdoing. Deloitte Cyprus said it had always complied with local laws.
Russian billionaires and Cyprus companies
- Investigations implicate Deloitte, one of the world’s largest accounting firms, in alleged tax-evasion schemes involving Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s Cyprus companies
- Moscow money in the Mediterranean Leaked documents show Cyprus firms linked to Russian billionaires played key role in the Kremlin’s backdoor dealings
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