1. Deloitte Cyprus allegedly approved or certified documents recording backdated transfers of assets held by companies linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
2. These actions allegedly facilitated the transfer of billions of dollars in assets from Cyprus to the British Virgin Islands.
3. According to the investigation, the documents indicated that assets had been transferred to offshore companies before the transfers actually occurred.
Deloitte Cyprus allegedly approved or certified documents recording backdated transfers of assets held by companies linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, facilitating the movement of billions of dollars in assets from Cyprus to the British Virgin Islands.
The findings are detailed in an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), based on millions of leaked documents and messages.
According to the investigation, the documents indicated that assets had been transferred to offshore companies before the transfers actually occurred.
In one case, a company linked to Abramovich had received nearly $2 billion from the sale of shares in Russian oil company Sibneft in 2003.
In another case, documents certified by Deloitte Cyprus recorded the transfer of assets worth nearly $700 million as having taken place in 2003, although the assets reportedly remained with the Cypriot company until 2006.
The investigation also identified companies whose financial statements reported no assets, despite earlier records listing high-value yachts, aircraft and real estate.
Deloitte Cyprus stated that it operates in compliance with the law. Abramovich’s lawyers denied that he was aware of or involved in any arrangements to backdate documents, or that he sought to evade taxes or unlawfully conceal assets.
Source: Politis
