Police open investigation into Abramovich assets

Police have launched an investigation into the management of Roman Abramovich’s assets through Cypriot companies. Speaking before the House institutions committee on Wednesday, a police spokesman said the inquiry would be carried out with the other competent bodies and was expected to take about six months. The case dates back several years, but police said the passage of time did not remove the legal basis for investigating it. A justice ministry spokesperson said the information was being evaluated and that an investigation would follow if indications of offences emerged. The move follows an investigation published on October 12 by BBC Panorama and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). It alleged that Deloitte Cyprus signed off backdated paperwork for Abramovich companies. Deloitte Cyprus told the Cyprus Mail it “acts in compliance with applicable laws”. Committee chairman and Disy MP Demetris Demetriou said the purpose of the session was a supervisory review and not a recital of history. “We are not here merely to say that these things happened years ago,” he said. “Otherwise, this committee becomes a group therapy session, and I am not willing to go down that road.” Alma MP Irene Charalambides said the case went back to 2006, when Cyprus operated in a different financial environment. She said the authorities must tell the House whether current procedures could prevent a repeat, and asked whether the government could assure that past weaknesses had been addressed and that no similar revelations would emerge about recent years. The committee heard that the main allegation was that an audit firm encouraged a client to backdate documents to secure a tax benefit or alter the presentation of financial statements. Supervisors said such conduct today could lead to disciplinary proceedings and sanctions. They said audit quality had improved since oversight of the profession began in 2017, making incidents like those described for 2006 harder to repeat. The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (Selk) said it was examining the reports but could not give absolute assurance that similar cases would not recur. Its representative said Selk has no criminal investigation powers and refers evidence of offences to prosecutors. He said the licence of the person named in the BBC article was revoked in 2023. The anti-money laundering unit (Mokas) said it had received no report on the case, and that it possesses no power to conduct criminal investigations but could assist police if asked. Tax Commissioner Soteris Markides cautioned that there were time limits on the tax years in question that could be examined, while other attending authorities said they lacked jurisdiction over events that predated their creation. The Central Bank said it was examining whether any Cypriot bank was involved, although none had yet been identified. It said it could demand corrective measures or impose fines if breaches were found, and that the banking system had changed substantially since the financial crisis. The Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) said that though it now holds greater powers it cannot bring criminal prosecutions. The Bar Association said it could impose substantial administrative fines. Two former directors of Blue Ocean Yacht Management Ltd are due to stand trial at the Limassol district court on November 26 over €25 million in unpaid VAT. The company managed Abramovich’s superyachts, which together were worth about €1.2 billion. Abramovich himself has insisted that he took independent professional tax and legal advice and acted on it, and his lawyers have denied any role in alleged tax evasion. Former independent MP Alexandra Attalides, who had originally pressed the tax department to act, said it was “unbelievable that the supervisory bodies were so incompetent”.