Roman Abramovich may owe the UK £1 billion for funding Chelsea FC through tax evasion

Roman Abramovich may owe the UK £1 billion for a tax evasion plan that he used to partially support Chelsea FC.

According to data seen by the BBC, the sanctioned Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich may owe the UK up to £1 billion as a result of a botched tax evasion plan involving hedge fund assets.

$6 billion (£4.7 billion) in investments were made through British Virgin Islands (BVI) businesses, according to leaked records, however there is evidence that the assets were really controlled from the UK and ought to have been subject to UK taxes.

During Abramovich’s ownership, some of these money were connected to Chelsea FC, according to investigations conducted by the BBC and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ).

According to Abramovich’s attorneys, he consistently sought out independent expert tax and legal guidance and took appropriate action. The billionaire, who apparently travels between Tel Aviv, Istanbul, and the Russian resort of Sochi, denies any knowledge or personal accountability for unpaid taxes.

A Parliamentary group on fair taxes is chaired by Labor MP Joe Powell, who has called on HM Revenue and Customs to look into the case immediately, claiming that collecting the money might help public services.

Eugene Shvidler, a millionaire businessman and former Chelsea FC director who is presently contesting UK penalties imposed because of his connections to Abramovich, purportedly oversaw the scam. According to a tax expert who spoke to the BBC, Shvidler, who resided in the UK from 2004 to 2022 before moving to the US following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reportedly made important investment choices there, which is compelling proof that the businesses ought to have been subject to British taxes.

Shvidler’s attorneys retorted that the investment structure had been meticulously structured with guidance from top tax specialists and that the BBC’s conclusions were based on private company records that provided an incomplete picture.

A large document dump from a Cyprus-based company that oversaw Abramovich’s financial empire revealed the tax dodging plan.

Since 2023, as part of the Cyprus Confidential project of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the BBC, The Guardian, and other media partners have been looking into the files.

Abramovich reportedly dodged millions in VAT on the operational costs of his fleet of yachts, according to a BBC investigation on Tuesday. The stolen information also reveals that a sizeable amount of his fortune, which he amassed in a shady transaction in the 1990s, was placed in the BVI firm Keygrove Holdings Ltd.

Between the late 1990s and the early 2020s, Keygrove Holdings Ltd. and its network of BVI businesses allegedly made up to $6 billion (£4.8 billion) in investments in Western hedge funds.

An estimated $3.8 billion (£3.1 billion) was made from these investments. Investing through the tax-free BVI seems to have reduced the scheme’s tax liabilities.