Cyprus Revives Company to Reclaim €14m Unpaid Tax from Abramovich’s Yacht Scheme

• Cypriot authorities will revive Blue Ocean Yacht Management to reclaim €14m in unpaid tax on Roman Abramovich’s superyachts.
• A court order directed the re-registration of the company and reinstatement of its officers.
• The move follows criticism after officials said reclaiming the tax was impossible.
• The tax issue was revealed by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and partners.
• Abramovich may also owe £1bn in UK tax from a separate scheme.
• Joe Powell, Labour MP, questioned why UK tax authorities have not made similar efforts.
• TBIJ investigations showed Abramovich used a sham yacht hire scheme to evade VAT.
• Blue Ocean Yacht Management was central to the scheme and first investigated in 2012.
• The supreme court ruled in 2024 that Blue Ocean owed €14m in VAT.
• The company was wound up without settling the debt due to procedural barriers.
• UK parliament discussed steps to ensure funds owed by Abramovich are pursued.
• Treasury minister stated the government will increase tax enforcement efforts.
• Abramovich claimed he acted on professional advice and denied knowledge of tax evasion.

Source: thebureauinvestigates.com

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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