Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich owes up to £1 billion ($1.2 billion) in taxes to the United Kingdom, after allegedly using hedge fund investments and Chelsea Football Club to evade payments.
This news came to light during a joint investigation by the BBC, The Guardian, and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism published on January 29.
Abramovich, once a dominant figure in British business and sports, was forced to sell Chelsea FC in 2022 and banned from entering the UK due to his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But newly uncovered financial records suggest that for decades, he funneled billions through offshore firms to dodge tax obligations in Britain. This was reported by the Kyiv Independent.
Offshore Companies and Hidden Investments
Between 1990 and 2020, Abramovich invested around $6 billion in Keygrove Holdings Ltd, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
From there, a network of offshore companies — also registered in the British Virgin Islands — invested the funds into Western hedge funds.
According to leaked documents, Abramovich’s investments yielded $3.8 billion in profits, much of it remaining untaxed.
A central figure in the scheme was Eugene Shvidler, a billionaire, close associate of Abramovich, and former Chelsea FC director.
Shvidler, who has been sanctioned due to his links to Abramovich, was granted broad control over these offshore firms. Having lived in the UK since 2010 as a British citizen, he was legally required to pay UK taxes on profits generated by the companies he managed.
The leaked documents indicate that starting in 2008, Shvidler oversaw Keygrove’s investments, despite its offshore registration. UK tax laws require companies run by UK-based individuals to be taxed as if they were UK firms, meaning Abramovich’s network should have been paying UK taxes on the profits.
How Chelsea FC Was Involved
Investigators traced how Abramovich’s tax-free hedge fund profits were funneled through offshore companies before ultimately ending up at Chelsea FC. Keygrove Holdings reportedly loaned money to other Abramovich-owned companies, which in turn lent funds to Camberley International Investments Ltd, the firm that financed Chelsea Football Club.
This revelation raises fresh concerns over how Abramovich managed the club’s finances and whether British football regulations were knowingly bypassed during his tenure as Chelsea’s owner.
Cyprus Confidential Leaks
The investigation is part of the Cyprus Confidential leaks, an international probe into secret financial dealings, led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and Paper Trail Media.
Earlier findings revealed that Blue Ocean Yacht Management, a Cypriot company owned by Abramovich, created a fake business to avoid taxes on superyachts used by Abramovich himself. From 2005 to 2012, he allegedly evaded tens of millions of euros in yacht taxes.
With an estimated net worth of $9 billion, Abramovich holds Russian, Israeli, and Portuguese citizenship. Since being sanctioned after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he has largely divided his time between Tel Aviv, Istanbul, and Sochi, Russia.
