Abramovich Could Owe UK £1 Billion Over Tax Dodge

Sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich could owe the UK up to £1 billion after a failed attempt to avoid taxes on hedge fund investments, according to evidence seen by the BBC, James Oliver, Harriet Agerholm, and Will Dahlgreen reported.

Some of the funds that previously supported Chelsea FC while Abramovich owned the club can be traced back to companies involved in the scheme. I Photo: Kobi Gideon / Government Press Office of Israel

Leaked documents reveal that investments worth $6 billion (£4.7 billion) were routed through companies in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). However, evidence suggests that these investments were actually managed from the UK, meaning they should have been taxed there.

Some of the funds that previously supported Chelsea FC while Abramovich owned the club can be traced back to companies involved in the scheme, according to a joint investigation by the BBC and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ).

Abramovich’s lawyers stated that he “always obtained independent expert professional tax and legal advice” and “acted in accordance with that advice.”

The oligarch—who now reportedly divides his time between Istanbul, Tel Aviv, and the Russian resort city of Sochi—denies any knowledge of, or personal responsibility for, unpaid taxes.

Joe Powell, a Labour MP who leads a parliamentary group on fair taxation, called on HM Revenue and Customs to “urgently” investigate the case and recover what could be “very significant amounts of money that could be invested in public services.”

At the heart of the scheme is Eugene Shvidler, a former Chelsea FC director and billionaire businessman, who is currently challenging the UK government's decision to sanction him due to his close ties to Abramovich.

Shvidler moved to the U.S. after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but from 2004 to 2022, he lived in the UK, owning properties in London and Surrey.

A tax expert told the BBC that evidence suggesting Shvidler made strategic investment decisions while based in the UK—rather than in the BVI—was "a pretty big smoking gun," indicating that the companies involved should have been paying UK taxes.