World News for Students of English

16-10-2026 15:00

A new investigation has revealed that former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich used fake, backdated financial documents to hide his wealth and avoid paying taxes.

The leak shows that Cyprus-based financial firms, along with major global accounting advisers, helped rewrite company records to secret away over 600 million dollars in luxury assets, including superyachts, private jets, and luxury homes. These firms also changed bank records to help the Russian oligarch avoid paying millions of dollars in local taxes on a 2 billion dollar fortune.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Abramovich has faced heavy international sanctions over his close ties to Vladimir Putin, which forced him to move his massive superyachts to safe waters in Turkey. While legal experts argue that these fake records amount to clear tax fraud that should face criminal prosecution, Abramovich’s legal team strongly denies any wrongdoing and insists he simply followed professional financial advice.

Difficult words: secret away (to hide or place something in a secret location so others cannot find or see it), oligarch (a very rich and powerful business leader who often has strong connections to political leaders), fraud (the crime of tricking people or changing information to illegally get money or power).

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