Leaked files allege Deloitte signed off on backdated accounts

Leaked records described in an investigation indicate that Deloitte Cyprus signed off on backdated accounts that removed £508 million in assets linked to Roman Abramovich from a Cyprus company’s published accounts, while separate documents appear to show efforts to reduce tax exposure on funds held by another company. Abramovich’s lawyers deny he evaded tax or concealed wealth, and Deloitte Cyprus says it complies with applicable laws. The accounts concerned Amiscan Investments. In 2006, Deloitte Cyprus approved the company’s 2003 accounts, which had been prepared earlier but not finalized. The investigation says documents purported to show that assets had been transferred to a British Virgin Islands parent company in 2003, before Cyprus introduced a rule requiring company accounts to be made public. The assets included luxury properties, aircraft and boats; after the change, the published accounts reportedly listed only £75,000 in assets. The records, drawn from files held by corporate services firm MeritServus, also relate to Kravin Investments. An email from MeritServus in 2005 proposed changing the company’s 2003 and 2004 accounts.