New evidence highlights corrupt Abramovich deals

New evidence highlights corrupt Abramovich deals

LONDON — A BBC investigation has uncovered new evidence about the corrupt deals that made Roman Abramovich's fortune. The Chelsea owner made billions after buying an oil company from the Russian government in a rigged auction in 1995. Abramovich paid around $250m (£190m) for Sibneft, before selling it back to the Russian government for $13bn in 2005. His lawyers say there is no basis for alleging he has amassed very substantial wealth through criminality. The Russian billionaire was sanctioned by the UK government last week because of his links to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Abramovich's assets have been frozen and he has been disqualified as a director of Chelsea Football Club. The Russian billionaire has already admitted in a UK court that he made corrupt payments to help get the Sibneft deal off the ground. He was being sued in London by his former business associate Boris Berezovsky in 2012. Abramovich won the case, but he described in court how the original Sibneft auction was rigged in his favour and how he gave Mr Berezovsky $10m to pay off a Kremlin official. BBC Panorama has obtained a document that is thought to have been smuggled out of Russia. The information