Cyprus Police Open Tax Probe Into Roman Abramovich's Finances

Cyprus police have opened an investigation into Roman Abramovich's financial and tax affairs, focusing on events between 2003 and 2006. A senior police official told a Cypriot parliamentary committee that the probe will likely run for six months, and that the passage of time will complicate the work.

Andreas Anastasiades, assistant director of the crime combating department, said police began gathering evidence after a report by the Guardian and its media partners. He said officers would also consult the relevant authorities to assess the available material.

What did the journalists find?

The Guardian, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the BBC jointly investigated the management of the Russian oligarch's sprawling business empire. Their central finding: aides of Abramovich, including staff at the Cypriot outpost of the global accountancy firm Deloitte, appeared to have falsified paperwork mapping his offshore businesses.

The actions included the apparent backdating of key documents concerning billions of pounds in assets. According to the investigation, this appeared to have helped businesses owned by Abramovich dodge tax and disguise assets.

The underlying evidence came from the Cyprus Confidential leak, a trove of more than 500,000 documents first released to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the BBC were among the organisations that analysed the material.

How did the investigation become public?

News of the police involvement emerged during a regular meeting of a Cypriot parliamentary committee on "institutions, values and the commissioner for administration." CIReN, the Guardian's Cypriot reporting partner, reported the disclosure.

It was at that hearing that Anastasiades set out the timeline. Police expect the investigation to last six months, though he cautioned that the amount of time elapsed since the events of 2003 to 2006 would make the investigation more difficult.

The scope is narrow in dates but broad in subject matter. The probe covers the financial and tax affairs of the former Chelsea FC owner during a period when his business empire was expanding rapidly through offshore structures administered from Cyprus.

What have Abramovich and Deloitte said?

The Guardian approached representatives of both Abramovich and Deloitte Cyprus for comment on the police investigation.

Abramovich has previously denied any wrongdoing. He has said that he relied on the advice of professional experts in managing his affairs.

Deloitte Cyprus has previously said that it "acts in compliance with all applicable laws." The firm added that it could no longer access the relevant material because of the time that had elapsed since the transactions in question.

Why does the timeline matter?

Both defences hinge on the same fact the police now cite as an obstacle: nearly two decades separate investigators from the events under scrutiny. For Anastasiades' team, that means documentary reconstruction across the 2003-2006 window will decide whether the six-month probe produces findings or stalls on aged records.

The case also marks a test of Cypriot appetite for pursuing historic offshore dealings exposed by the Cyprus Confidential leak. With more than 500,000 documents already in journalists' hands, the police investigation will show whether the material can support formal enforcement as well as reporting.