Roman Abramovich

Coverage on BBC ONE West and BBC NEWS reported that a BBC Panorama investigation, carried out with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, had examined a data leak about Roman Abramovich's offshore financial arrangements. The reports said the leak showed that Cypriot advisers to the former Chelsea owner falsified and backdated hundreds of documents to hide billions of dollars held through a network of companies. BBC ONE West reported that accounts signed off by Deloitte meant assets such as superyachts disappeared from company accounts, and that Deloitte helped falsify documents. Both channels said the evidence suggested the arrangements allowed Abramovich to evade millions in tax, and included an assessment that if this had happened in England and involved millions, His Majesty's Revenue and Customs would consider prosecution. The reports said one Abramovich company, Kravin Investments, held almost 2 billion dollars in 2003, and that Deloitte confirmed certain changes would have to be made to the accounts. Both channels reported that Roman Abramovich's lawyers deny he evaded tax or concealed his fortune, saying he was not involved in the day to day operation of the companies and that Panorama had provided no evidence he knew of, authorised or directed the falsification or backdating of documents. Deloitte said it complies with applicable laws. Deloitte Cyprus said it was unable to comment because the documents were more than 20 years old and no longer accessible. The channels also noted that Abramovich had been sanctioned because of his links to Vladimir Putin and had been forced to sell Chelsea.

Key Claims by Channel

Claim
Reported by all 2 channels
A BBC Panorama investigation reported that Roman Abramovich's Cypriot advisers, with help from Deloitte, falsified and backdated hundreds of documents to hide his wealth.
In 2003, Roman Abramovich's Cypriot company Kravin Investments held almost 2 billion dollars of his money.
The investigation reported evidence suggesting that the arrangements allowed Roman Abramovich to evade millions in tax.	Reported by BBC News
An assessment in the coverage said HMRC would consider prosecution if the conduct had occurred in England and involved millions.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Roman Abramovich denied any wrongdoing, including evading tax or concealing his fortune, and his lawyers said he was not involved in the day-to-day operation of the companies and that Panorama provided no evidence he knew of, authorised or directed falsification or backdating.	Reported by BBC News
Deloitte said it complies with applicable laws.		Reported by BBC One
Deloitte Cyprus said it could not comment because the documents were more than 20 years old and no longer accessible.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Roman Abramovich had been sanctioned over his links to Vladimir Putin and had been forced to sell Chelsea.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Only on one channel
The investigation reported that accounts signed off by Deloitte meant assets such as superyachts disappeared from company accounts.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Roman Abramovich denies wrongdoing and Deloitte says it complies with applicable laws.		Not reported by BBC One
Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK and EU but not Turkey, which was described as a safe haven for his yachts.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.