Deloitte accused of helping former Chelsea owner to evade tax

Accounts signed off by Deloitte in Cyprus reportedly allowed former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to conceal superyachts, mansions, and private jets from company accounts, according to the BBC. The broadcaster reported that Deloitte advised on a scheme to avoid tax by falsifying documents. Leaked documents reportedly indicate that backdated paperwork was used to transfer company assets to the British Virgin Islands to circumvent transparency rules.

Abramovich's lawyers stated that he denies evading tax or concealing assets, insisting he neither knew of nor authorized any document falsification. The report comes after Chelsea were recently fined and issued a suspended transfer ban over past rule breaches regarding agent payments during Abramovich's ownership from 2009 to 2022.