The BBC has reported that Deloitte took part in preparing false paperwork that, the broadcaster says, hid Roman Abramovich's wealth and was used to evade tax. A Panorama film made with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism puts that paperwork in the hundreds and says the dates were shifted backward. The billionaire's position, as the BBC gives it, is that he did nothing wrong.
That account is drawn from the BBC's summary of the film. This newsroom has not seen the documents themselves. The summary calls Deloitte the world's biggest accountancy firm, and it does not include a comment from the firm.
What the BBC says the documents did
According to the BBC, the papers were changed so they were untrue, and they were dated earlier than the day they were drawn up. The purpose, the broadcaster says, was to conceal his wealth and to evade tax. In plain terms, tax evasion means failing to pay tax that is legally due. The BBC is alleging that outcome, not describing a court ruling.
The investigation puts the number of documents at hundreds. The summary does not state a value for the wealth, a sum of tax, or the names of individual accountants. Those details are absent from the source used here.
Who reported the story
Panorama worked with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. In the BBC's own wording the partner is also called the Bureau for Investigative Journalism. The film is offered as an account of how his advisers helped hide the fortune, and the text names Deloitte as the firm that helped produce the false documents.
Because no Deloitte statement appears in that text, the claim stands as the BBC's finding. It should not be read, from this article, as a position the firm has accepted or answered.
What he has said, and what is not in the summary
Roman Abramovich, the BBC reports, denies wrongdoing. The summary does not quote him at length. It also does not mention a charge, a fine, a lawsuit, or a decision by a tax authority. The denial is the only reply the text attributes to him.
What readers can do next
The investigation can be watched on BBC iPlayer through the BBC News video page. The summary sets out no date for a further statement, a company response, or an official inquiry. Any later step would have to come from material beyond what the BBC has published with the film.
