Deloitte held close ties to a now-sanctioned Cyprus firm accused of shielding oligarchs’ wealth, records reveal - ICIJ

MeritServus was founded as a division of Deloitte in Cyprus in 2005 , records show.

The accounting giant said it had severed official ties with the firm in March 2023 .

Records show the firm's managing director, Demetris Ioannides , sat on the board of a subsidiary in Cyprus that oversaw consulting operations in Russia , Ukraine , Belarus and other countries.

MeritServus appointed Deloitte as independent auditor of shell companies it administered on behalf of owners whose identities were often kept secret in public filings.

Abramovich, a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin , has denied having a financial relationship with Putin .

The imprimatur of a global accounting powerhouse on accounting statements can lend a shell entity the appearance of respectability.

Before and after the firms split, MeritServus and Ioannides administered several Deloitte subsidiaries based in Cyprus .

Records show Ioannide appeared to exercise extensive management control over this firm.

The full scope of the firm’s work is not clear, but in 2011 , The Kyiv Post reported that the firm had won a major contract to audit and evaluate the business operations of Russian state-owned oil giant Gazprom .