Following a Swiss court ruling, alleged Jersey investigations, and an accusation of £1bn in unpaid tax, Abramovich is now in the Cyprus courts

Following the news in February 2025 that reported that UK MPs were pushing for a probe into a possible $1B tax dodge, after Leaked documents found by ICIJ media partners suggest

• Roman Abramovich’s companies failed to pay tax on huge profits generated by offshore investments worth $6 billion

Roman Abramovich’s lawyers appear to be busy as of September 2025. It has been reported in numerous sources that:-

• Jersey’s Attorney General is investigating Abramovich for alleged money laundering and breaches of economic sanctions laws.
• Abramovich is challenging his EU sanctions designation, arguing he was unfairly targeted
• There are continued UK Legal Proceedings Related to the Chelsea FC Sale and
• Cyprus in August 2025 - The Cypriot tax authority has filed criminal charges

It was reported on August 26, 2025, that.

• The Cypriot tax authority has filed criminal charges over Roman Abramovich’s sham yacht-rental scheme to recover more than €25m in tax dodged by the oligarch’s company.
• An indictment was filed last week against former directors of Blue Ocean Yacht Management, the Cyprus-based company at the heart of an arrangement that enabled the oligarch to falsely claim huge tax exemptions on his fleet of luxury boats.

The multimillion-euro scheme was brought to light after an investigation published in January by

• The Bureau of Investigative Journalism,
• with partners the BBC, the Guardian, and OCCRP’s Cypriot network member CIReN
• (The investigators)

The investigators revealed that

• Between 2005 and 2012, Blue Ocean operated a fake yacht-hire business to avoid paying VAT on expenses like fuel, provisions and maintenance.

The scheme

• It involved a complex setup in which Abramovich’s superyachts, owned via a set of companies in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), were rented out to Blue Ocean, which in turn leased the yachts to another set of BVI companies.
• These appeared to be independent customers but were actually owned by one of Abramovich’s offshore trusts.
• This allowed the superyachts to be classified as commercial vessels, exempting them from EU taxes.
• It has been suggested that Abramovich was effectively “hiring” the boats from himself.

In a statement shared with CIReN, Cyprus’s tax commissioner Sotiris Markides said of the indictment:

• “The case has been filed today, and
• the trial date has been set for 9 October 2025 in Limassol District Court.
• The case involves directors of Blue Ocean who are charged with criminal offences based on VAT law.”

Sotiris Markides did not

• Identify the former directors

• Specify the charges filed against them.

The company’s shareholder, Corpserve (Trustees) Limited, did not respond to CIReN’s request for comment.

TIMELINE

The upcoming case is the latest development in a YEARS-LONG SAGA between Blue Ocean and the Cyprus government over the tax bill.

• In 2012, the Cyprus tax authorities began pursuing the company for unpaid VAT.
• Last year, despite having lost its case in the country’s supreme court, Blue Ocean was dissolved without paying the multimillion-euro tax bill.
• In June, after our investigation prompted outcry from MPs, the tax commissioner obtained a court order to reinstate the company so the unpaid bills could be claimed and charges filed.

Concerning the case in Cyprus,

• it has been reported that the Lawyers for Abramovich have previously denied any allegation that the billionaire was aware of or responsible for any scheme to evade taxes.

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH'S OTHER CASE IN 2025

As of September 2025, Roman Abramovich is involved in several ongoing legal and sanctions-related proceedings across multiple jurisdictions.

HERE'S A SUMMARY OF THE KEY CASES:

1. Jersey Investigation: Money Laundering & Sanctions Violations
   1. Nature of Case: Jersey’s Attorney General is investigating Abramovich for alleged money laundering and breaches of economic sanctions laws.
   2. Background: The case centres on the 1990s acquisition and later sale of Sibneft, a Russian oil company. Abramovich allegedly paid “Krysha payments” (bribes) to gain control and routed $13 billion in proceeds through Jersey-based trusts and offshore entities.
   3. Swiss Involvement: In May 2025, Switzerland’s top court granted Jersey access to banking records linked to Abramovich, rejecting appeals from companies involved in the offshore structures
   4. Current Status: No criminal charges have been filed yet, but the investigation is active and complex, involving multiple jurisdictions and entities.
2. European Union Sanctions Appeals
   1. Case T-1105/23: Abramovich challenged his EU sanctions designation, arguing he was unfairly targeted.
   2. EU Court Decision (Sept 2025): The General Court of the EU rejected his appeal, citing:
      1. His 28.64% stake in Evraz, a steel company generating substantial revenue for the Russian state.
      2. His close ties to President Putin and influence in Russian politics.
   3. Outcome: Sanctions remain in place, including asset freezes and travel bans
3. UK Legal Proceedings (Related to Chelsea FC Sale)
   1. Context: After selling Chelsea FC for £2.5 billion, Abramovich pledged the proceeds to victims of the war in Ukraine.
   2. Issue: The UK government froze the funds and has threatened legal action over how they are managed and disbursed.
   3. Status: Legal negotiations and scrutiny continue, but no formal charges have been confirmed

Abramovich may owe the UK £1bn in unpaid tax.

• Roman Abramovich may owe up to £1 billion in unpaid UK taxes due to a Cypriot-based offshore investment scheme that allegedly violated UK corporate residency rules.

Here's a breakdown of how this unfolded:

🧾 The Alleged Tax Evasion Scheme

• Offshore Hedge Fund Network
• Between the late 1990s and 2022, Abramovich invested over \$6 billion into a global network of hedge funds.
• These investments were routed through British Virgin Islands (BVI) companies owned by a Cypriot trust, of which Abramovich was the sole beneficiary
• UK Tax Residency Rules
• Under UK law, a company is considered UK tax resident if it is centrally managed and controlled from the UK, regardless of where it is registered.
• Leaked documents (from the Cyprus Confidential investigation) show that Eugene Shvidler, Abramovich’s close associate and a UK citizen, was making key investment decisions from the UK.
• This implies the companies were effectively UK-based, and thus liable for UK corporation tax
• Estimated Tax Liability
• Profits from the hedge fund operations were estimated at \$3.8 billion between 1999 and 2018.
• Applying UK corporation tax rates, this could mean £536 million in unpaid tax, plus penalties and interest that bring the total to around £1 billion

Political and Legal Response

• UK MPs, led by Joe Powell, have called for HMRC to investigate and recover the unpaid taxes.
• HMRC has not confirmed any investigation but stated its commitment to enforcing tax laws fairly

Key Takeaway

• The case hinges on where the investment decisions were made. If it is proven that Abramovich’s companies were managed from the UK, the tax liability could be substantial, potentially the most significant individual tax case in UK history, surpassing Bernie Ecclestone’s £653 million settlement

References

• Billionaire Abramovich Faces Jersey Money Laundering and Sanctions ...https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/09/08/billionaire-abramovich-faces-jersey-money-laundering-and-sanctions-probe-a90451
• Jersey 2025 investigates money laundering and breaches of sanctions ...https://www.comsuregroup.com/news/jersey-2025-investigates-money-laundering-and-breaches-of-sanctions-tied-to-a-13-billion-company-sale/
• EU Court rejects Roman Abramovich delisting application https://globalsanctions.com/2025/09/eu-court-rejects-roman-abramovich-delisting-application/
• Trying to Clear His Name, Roman Abramovich Loses EU Court Appeal on ...https://united24media.com/latest-news/trying-to-clear-his-name-roman-abramovich-loses-eu-court-appeal-on-sanctions-over-putin-ties-11545
• Source https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025-08-26/cyprus-files-criminal-charges-over-abramovich-tax-evasion-scheme
• [1] Roman Abramovich may owe UK £1bn in unpaid tax | TBIJ
• [2] UK MPs push for probe into Russian billionaire’s possible $1B tax dodge