Roman Abramovich can condemn a British one billion pounds in an unpaid tax

The BBC's evidence indicates that the Russian few imposed on the few can condemn the United Kingdom by one billion pounds after a failed attempt to avoid taxes on the investment of hedge funds.

The leaked papers revealed investments of $ 6 billion (4.7 billion pounds) that were directed by companies in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). But the evidence indicates that it was managed by the United Kingdom, so taxes should have been imposed there.

She also found some of the money that funded Chelsea FC when Mr. Abramovic owned it to the companies participating in the plan, the BBC and the Investigative Press Office (TBIG).

The oligarchy lawyers said that “he has always received tax advice, independent experts” and “acted according to this advice.” It denies the existence of any knowledge or official personally for any unpaid tax.

Joe Powell, the worker who leads a parliamentary group on fair taxes, called on HM revenues and customs to “investigate an urgent” to recover what could be “very important amounts that can be invested in public services.”

At the heart of the scheme, Eugene Chefidler, a former director of Chelsea, and a billionaire businessman in itself, who is currently challenging the UK government’s decision to punish him for his close connections to Mr. Abramovich.

Mr. Chefidler moved to the United States of America after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but from 2004 to 2022, he lived in the United Kingdom, with real estate in London and Sari.

One of the BBC tax expert told that the evidence that Mr. Cheflerler had made strategic decisions on investments while its headquarters was in the United Kingdom, not in BVI, a “large smoking pistol”, indicating that companies should have paid the UK tax.

“Strong and wrong conclusions in relation to Mr. Chefidler's behavior.” Said BBC.

They said that the “Investment Temple” was “the subject of very accurate and detailed tax planning, which was implemented by the leading tax consultants.”

The plan that included the hedge fund investments in Abramovich was revealed in a large leak of data taught by the BBC and the investigative press office for more than a year – thousands of files and email messages from its Cyprus -headed company runs the Empirevich International Empire.

The British Broadcasting Corporation and its media partners, including the Guardian, reported the files that have been leaked since 2023 as part of the International Federation of Journalists Investigation. Cyprus is a secret investigation. On Tuesday, we revealed how Mr. Abramovich was Millions run away in VAT over the costs of operating a yacht fleet for him.

The leaked data shows how Mr. Abramovich has invested a large part of the wealth he gained in the 1990s A corrupt deal – Plowing it in a company in BVI called Keygrove Holdings Ltd.

A network of British Virgin Islands, owned by Keygrove, has invested these funds – which amount to $ 6 billion (4.8 billion pounds) between the late 1990s and early 2020 – to Western hedge funds, according to the leaked files.

These investments have made a few $ 3.8 billion (3.1 billion pounds) with profits over nearly two decades. By making investments through companies in BVI, which does not impose a tax on corporate profits, it appears that the plan has been prepared to ensure that a little tax is paid.

It is not unusual that the legal avoidance of companies pay the tax on their profits by achieving their companies in the tax havens. But the companies concerned must be managed and controlled abroad as they are combined.

If the strategic decisions of the foreign company are made by someone in the United Kingdom, taxes can be imposed on its profits as if it were the United Kingdom.

The leaked documents show how BVI investment managers handed over comprehensive powers to Mr. Chefidler, who lived in the United Kingdom and acquired British citizenship in 2010.

The BBC witnessed the documents of “Public Power of Attorney” dated between 2004 and 2008, which gave it “the widest possible powers” and “full power to do everything and anything” for BVI investment companies.

Since 2008, Mr. Shvidler seems to have acquired the ability to direct Keygrove investments, which owns BVI companies, through another company.

Millennium Capital Ventures Ltd, who was indirectly owned by Mr. Chefidler's wife and appointed as director in 2000, became the investment manager at Keygrove. He was appointed “the full authority and power to supervise and direct the assets”, all without prior consultation with the customer.

Another evidence of Mr. Cheflerler's decisive role in the investment decisions of BVI companies in the case of the court submitted by the US Securities and Exchange Committee (SEC) against the New York Management company in September 2023.

The SEC file says that Concorde has only one customer, since it was identified as Mr. Abramovich. The company advised investment decisions for BVI companies in the few.

He defines a “long -time partner” by Mr. Abramovich, referred to as “Person B”, who “made investment decisions” by Mr. Abramovich.

She says it was “the call point to receive investment advice” and “to make a decision or deliver a decision if the recommended transactions will be proceeded.”

Using the leaked documents, the British Broadcasting Corporation was able to identify “Person B” as Eugene Chefler.

Evidence indicates that Mr. Cheflerler was making the decisions described by the Securities and Stock Exchange Committee, and the management and monitoring of Mr. Abramovich's investments, from the United Kingdom instead of BVI.

Tax expert Rita de Le Feria BBC told the evidence that the resident of the United Kingdom, such as Mr. Cheferler, was making “large strategic decisions” regarding the hedge fund's investments was a “clear indication” that the huge profits should have had taxes. It is by the United Kingdom.

“I think this is a large smoking pistol. It will be, again, strong evidence that the active management of the company did not occur in BVI,” she said.

Lawyers of Mr. Chefidler said that there could be no doubt that Mr. Chefceder, either intentionally or neglecting, is participating in an illegal plan to avoid paying the tax.

In addition to the advice he obtained regarding his tax affairs, the lawyers of Mr. Abramovich said that it is expected to be requested by similar advice “by those who bear the responsibility of managing companies related to it.

The leaked documents also reveal the amount of taxable profits from the investment of the hedge funds from Mr. Abramovich via a network of Al -Qalla companies before they flow to Chelsea.

The hedge fund investments returned to its companies in BVI and then to Keygrove, the mother company.

After that, Keygrove has prepared money for other companies in the Mr. Abramovic Network, which in turn provided money to Camperley International Investments LTD – a company that created for Chelsea FC.

By 2021, when Chelsea won the European Champions League, World Cup and European Football Cup, hundreds of millions of dollars can be returned from loans to the club to companies that benefit from unprecedented hedge funds in Abramovich.

If HMRC is to investigate, how much can Abramovich or companies concerned can be owed?

We evaluated the profits achieved by investment companies in BVI from 1999 to 2018.

The documents that were leaked only contains full accounts for companies that invest in hedge funds from 2013 to 2018.

But we can estimate the amount of money that the companies concerned may earn throughout the entire period by looking at the “revenue reserves”. These are the profits saved in companies, rather than payment for shareholders. By the end of 2018, this reached $ 3.8 billion.

Apply the rates of transforming taxes and historical currency in the United Kingdom to revenue reserves until 2012, and annual profits until 2018, as a potential tax bill exceeding 500 million pounds due to HMRC.

But in the event of an investigation into an unpaid tax, HMRC can also impose the benefit of payment and late penalties for not notifying the authorities.

If the tax is not paid, then, depending on whether the investigation was concluded that the officials knew but they did not tell HMRC, or if they do not know, the total amount due between approximately 700 million pounds can range From one billion pounds.

There is a possibility that some taxes cannot be recovered, as HMRC investigations cannot return to a maximum of 20 years.

However, our accounts are also likely to be less than estimate, because we have applied the lowest rate of corporate tax that existed between 1999 and 2012, and profits were extracted from companies in that period that we did not include in sums.

However, the tax bill can be stuck to Mr. Abramovich A 653 million pounds of £ 653 million In 2023.

After Russia's extensive invasion of Ukraine, the British government, Roman Abramovich, allowed the sale of Chelsea FC to Todd Bohli. He did this, provided that 2.5 billion pounds of revenue is donated to charities that support war victims in Ukraine.

After nearly three years, the money is still sitting in a frozen Barclays bank account, due to the dispute over how it is spent, as Mr. Abramovich wants to go to all the war victims, and the UK government insists on insisting that it must be spent only on aid Humanity in Ukraine.

BBC's investigation indicates that, just as Ukrainians are waiting for money from the former Chelsea president, as well as British tax motivation.

Cyprus is a secret The international cooperative investigation was launched in 2023 led by the International Federation of Investigation Journalists (ICIG) in Cyprus companies and provided companies and financial services to the partners of the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Among the media partners, The Guardian, The Investigative BAPER TRILEDIA, the Italian Newspaper l'Presso, a project to report organized crime and corruption (OCRP) and the investigative press office (TBIJ).

TBIJ reports team: Simon Locke and Eleanor Rose.