Billionaire Abramovich Didn’t Pay a Single Euro of the €14 Million VAT Debt in Cyprus
Cyprus Tax Commissioner Sotiris Markides stated today before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Development Plans and Public Expenditure Control that “no settlement was made before its dissolution” with Blue Ocean — meaning the tax debt was never paid.
Speaking to CIReN afterward, Markides clarified that “the unpaid VAT related to the period 2005–2010 and could not be pursued by the Cypriot authorities after so many years because Blue Ocean no longer had any directors.”
This revelation by the Tax Commissioner sparked outrage among MPs, who are demanding explanations from the Attorney General, who knew of the case but did not attend the session to explain his position. A new hearing has been scheduled in 15 days for this reason.
“The position of the Attorney General is very important, and the issue is critical, because it appears the Tax Commissioner referred the case to your office for legal opinion,” said Committee Chairman and DIKO MP Zacharias Koulias, addressing a representative of the Attorney General’s Office. The representative stated before MPs that she was not personally handling the case, adding, “I came to listen, I cannot comment now, and a written response will be submitted later on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office.”
Markides told CIReN that “there is no way to recover the VAT after the company has been struck off, not even through reinstatement,” a condition provided for in Cypriot law. “Let’s say we reinstate the company—then what? It has no directors. Am I supposed to go 20 years back to track down directors from 2005, 2006, 2007 and ask them what happened?” he asked rhetorically. “From whom can I collect money from, when the company no longer exists?” He also argued that the Tax Department “could
