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A secret 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.
Mr. Abramovich purchased Sibneft for around $250 million (£190 million) before selling it to the Russian government for $13 billion in 2005.
His lawyers claim there is no evidence that he has earned a large fortune through illicit activity.
The UK government sanctioned the Russian billionaire last week due to his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr. Abramovich’s assets have been blocked, and he has been removed from the Chelsea Football Club board of directors.
The Russian billionaire has already acknowledged making corrupt payments to assist the Sibneft project get off the ground in a UK court.
Boris Berezovsky, a longtime business colleague, sued him in London in 2012.
Mr. Abramovich won the case, but he testified in court about how the original Sibneft auction was manipulated in his favor and how he paid Mr. Berezovsky $10 million to settle with a Kremlin official.
A document believed to have been smuggled out of Russia has been obtained by a secret source.
The information was provided to the program by an anonymous source who claims it was secretly stolen from Russian law enforcement files on Mr. Abramovich.
Although the source is unable to confirm this, many of the allegations in the five-page dossier have been confirmed by other Russian sources.
According to the paper, the Russian government was defrauded of $2.7 billion in the Sibneft purchase, a claim backed up by a 1997 Russian parliamentary probe. The Russian authorities planned to accuse Mr. Abramovich of fraud, according to the document.
“The Department of Economic Crimes detectives came to the opinion that if Abramovich could have been prosecuted, he would have faced allegations of fraud… by an organized criminal group,” it adds.
The investigation tracked down Russia’s former chief prosecutor, who was involved in the investigation in the 1990s.
Yuri Skuratov was unaware of the secret paper, but he independently validated many of the events surrounding the sale of Sibneft.
“It was a fraudulent scheme,” Mr. Skuratov said on the program, “where those who participated in the privatization created one criminal organization that allowed Abramovich and Berezovsky to deceive the government and not pay the money that this company was truly worth.”
The dossier also claims that former Russian President Boris Yeltsin shielded Mr. Abramovich.
According to the report, law enforcement data on Mr. Abramovich were sent to the Kremlin, and Mr. Skuratov’s inquiry was halted by the president.
According to the document: “Based on the inquiry into Sibneft’s privatization, Skuratov was drafting a criminal case for Sibneft’s confiscation. President Yeltsin halted the probe… Skuratov was fired from his position.”
After the publication of a sex tape in 1999, Mr. Skuratov was fired. It was a ruse to undermine him and his inquiry, he claims.
“This whole incident was political,” he claimed, “because throughout my investigations, particularly this probe of the Sibneft privatization, I came very close to Boris Yeltsin’s family.”
When Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, Mr. Abramovich stayed in the Kremlin’s inner circle.
Two years later, the paper reveals information of another manipulated auction involving Slavneft, a Russian oil business.
Mr. Abramovich organized a joint venture with another company to purchase Slavneft, but a rival Chinese firm planned to pay nearly twice as much.
If the Chinese won the auction, many influential people – from the Kremlin to the Russian parliament – would have lost out.
A member of the Chinese delegation was kidnapped when they arrived in Moscow for the auction, according to the document.
“CNPC, a Chinese corporation, and a formidable contender was forced to withdraw from the auction after one of its representatives was kidnapped upon arrival at Moscow Airport and freed only after the business announced its withdrawal.”
Independent individuals who were unaware of the paper back up the kidnapping story.
In the run-up to the Slavneft sale, Vladimir Milov was Russia’s deputy energy minister. He wouldn’t say anything about the kidnapping allegation, but he did say that key political leaders had already decided that Mr. Abramovich’s partnership would win the auction.
“Look, the Chinese want in, and they want to pay a lot higher price, I remarked. It doesn’t matter, they say; shut up, it’s none of your concern. It’s already made up. Slavneft is going to Abramovich, and a price has been agreed upon. Somehow, the Chinese will be brought out.”
There is no evidence that Mr. Abramovich was aware of the kidnapping scheme or took part in it.
According to his lawyers, the kidnapping claim is “completely baseless,” and he has “no knowledge of such incident.”
Different factions fought for control of Slavneft, and the Chinese bid was met with widespread hostility.
Whatever the reason for China’s departure, Mr. Abramovich’s partnership was the only remaining bidder. They also bought Slavneft for a bargain.
Mr. Abramovich’s lawyers claim that claims of wrongdoing in the Slavneft and Sibneft deals are untrue, and he disputes that Mr. Yeltsin shielded him.
Vincent Paul
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