Cypriot law enforcement authorities have officially launched a full-scale financial probe into Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, triggered by explosive investigative findings from a cross-border media consortium that alleges major accounting firm Deloitte assisted in falsifying documents to hide hundreds of millions of dollars of the oligarch’s assets and evade tax obligations. The probe, led by the Cyprus Police Financial Intelligence Unit, was publicly confirmed during a parliamentary anti-money laundering committee session held in the capital Nicosia this week, where a senior Ministry of Justice official notified sitting MPs that all evidence uncovered by the joint BBC Panorama and Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) report would be thoroughly reviewed to identify any potential criminal violations. The original investigative exposé, part of the wider International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ Cyprus Confidential project that has drawn on thousands of leaked offshore company documents spanning 1995 to 2022, details how Deloitte Cyprus signed off on 2006 corporate accounts that effectively erased $672 million worth of Abramovich’s high-value assets – including luxury superyachts, prime residential mansions, and private jets – from his corporate financial records. The leaked files also indicate the global accounting giant provided guidance on a structured scheme designed to help the billionaire avoid a massive outstanding tax liability via manipulated paperwork. Senior Cypriot police representative Andreas Anastasiades told the parliamentary committee that the Financial Crime Unit has already commenced evidence gathering, with the full investigation projected to take several months to complete. He explicitly noted that all individuals and entities potentially linked to the alleged activities, including Deloitte, will be subject to scrutiny, as investigators work to verify whether instances of fraud or document forgery took place. In response to the allegations, Abramovich’s legal team has repeatedly stated that the billionaire categorically denies any wrongdoing related to tax evasion or deliberate concealment of his wealth. The lawyers further emphasized that no concrete evidence has been presented to prove Abramovich was aware of, authorized, or directed any falsification of documents, and that it was entirely standard and legitimate for his corporate entities to act on professional advice from qualified third-party advisors. For its part, Deloitte Cyprus initially claimed it operates in full alignment with all applicable local regulations, and later stated it cannot provide further comment on the matter as the relevant records date back more than 20 years and are no longer accessible to the firm. This new probe follows a separate 2023 investigative report that exposed a separate tax scheme enabling Abramovich to avoid millions in tax on the operating costs of his luxury yachts; two former company directors linked to that scheme have already been indicted and are scheduled to stand trial in Cyprus next month over €25 million in unpaid VAT.