This is what I posted to disprove that post, cheers:
It was informative to a certain extent. But I feel the OP actually used some questionable sources and is passing it off as legitimate. I feel he just read a very biased book/sources and is passing it off as fact.
For example, he uses the term "fled," which is not a neutral term and implies leaving because of a fear. It makes it sound as if he's some outlaw that is running away from the law, which is not the case...
In 1995, Abramovich and his then-partner Boris Berezovsky[2] ), protected by their political connections with Yeltsin, set up multiple front companies to bid for Sibneft [now Gazprom Neft[3] , a subsidiary of Gazprom] as part of the loans-for-shares auctions which were taking place at the time. Russia was broke, so rich Russians were offering loans to the Russian government to keep it going and in return they expected, more or less as collateral, ownership of the major state-run enterprises.
Over here, he neglects to mention that Russia was privatizing. During privatization, these things actually occur often, even in Western countries. Private companies bid on state enterprises (hence the term "privatization") in order to run them. Add to that that Russia needed money because of the past Soviet Union's spending, I would say its perfectly reasonable/common to bid on a company. I mean relate it to yourself: if you had a million dollars, the government needed a loan of a million dollars and put their companies on the market, would you not try and buy their companies and loan them your money? Especially considering your current business is already located there and political turmoil may hurt your business in the area, therefore making it imperative to keep the government propped up with your money to certain extent as well. Think of TARP money but in reverse: US Government loaned money to companies during the past recession to obtain a share in their companies and have them not fail (General Motors, Ford etc).
Berezovsky also sued Abramovich in civil court for damages in England, claiming that Abramovich had stolen his shares of Sibneft after he fled Russia. He lost the suit, in no small part because the English court didn't have access to Russian ownership documents, being shielded by Abramovich's friends in Russia.
Really?
On 31 August 2012, the High Court dismissed the lawsuit. The High Court judge stated that because of the nature of the evidence, the case hinged on whether to believe Berezovsky or Abramovich's evidence. The judge found Berezovsky to be "an unimpressive, and inherently unreliable witness, who regarded truth as a transitory, flexible concept, which could be moulded to suit his current purposes", where as Abramovich was seen as "a truthful, and on the whole reliable, witness".[33][34]
────────
They controlled elections, business dealings, etc. Yeltsin's tenure was to end in 2000, so by 1998-1999 "the family" started fighting over who his successor should be, and Abramovich, Berezovsky (also in "the family"), and others eventually coalesced around Putin, who was appointed PM by Yeltsin in 1999 and ran for election in 2000. Abramovich and Berezovsky around the same time formed a new political party named "Unity,"[5] ) a political party which was formed to support the 1999 war in Chechnya - Putin's major strong point at the time, politically - and is now Putin's political party.
A survey of Wikipedia shows that Abramovich's money did not pay for it; Berezovsky's may have. Berezovsky helped fund it. That does not mean he actually created it, nor does it mean that Abramovich had a huge part in it either. Firstly, he may be misattributing, and secondly he could also be exaggerating their roles (Just a thought).
There were two assassination attempts made on Berezovsky while he lived in England, both of which were linked to the FSB (Russia's security service which Putin headed before becoming President), and one of his closest associates was assassinated via an injection of radioactive polonium-210 in downtown London[4] . Basically the FSB got some radioactive materials from the vaults, and snuck it into his associate's tea. Berezovsky also sued Abramovich in civil court for damages in England, claiming that Abramovich had stolen his shares of Sibneft after he fled Russia. He lost the suit, in no small part because the English court didn't have access to Russian ownership documents, being shielded by Abramovich's friends in Russia.
He neglects to mention that Litvinenko's (the associate) father actually suspected Berezovsky may have been behind the murder. On top of that, look at the power of suggestion here. The writer mentions Berezovsky's assassination attempts and then immediately mentions Abramovich's troubles with Berezovsky, therefore implicitly suggesting that Abramovich may have been involved (which is possible I guess but completely unsubstantiated).
When this was brought to Putin's attention, he reportedly responded sarcastically: "Olegu i Rome zhalko bylo?" ("Why were Oleg [Deripaskal and Roman [Abramovich] so stingy?") Norilsk Nickel paid more than half of all taxes in the region, while Russian Aluminum paid little, thanks to its political dominance.
Perfect quote to elicit a response. There are hardly ever sources for such backroom quotes, and they always carry an air of suggestiveness. Basically this quote is inserted in (probably without any legitimate source) to suggest that everything is rigged, when in fact this may never have been said. Its a sensationalist piece of writing to gather people to a certain opinion by pointing to some secret backroom talk that may not have even occurred.
Regarding taxation: "Yukos was the largest private taxpayer in Russia, and only Gazprom paid more taxes. Yukos minimized its profit taxes by legally registering its companies in low-tax regions in Russia, but so did many other companies. Putin's favorite, Roman Abramovich, did it much more aggressively in Chukhotka, where Abramovich is governor."
This is common business practice. In the United States, many companies are incorporated in Delaware because their policies are more favorable to businesses.
Even so, he emigrated to London, while remaining governor of Chukhotka, and gradually sold off his holdings in Russia. Rising speculation had it that Abramovich shared his wealth with Putin as he was widely thought to have shared with the Yeltsin family."
This is patently untrue. I don't know where the writer got such speculation, but its untrue. Abramovich is a businessman with his own money, Putin and his assets are not the same. As a person who loves history, shit like this pisses me off. These are basically unsubstantiated assertions. The writer just throws it out there to put in a suggestion without any evidence to back it up. The mere introduction of the unsubstantiated idea just taints the interpretation of facts completely. The assertion runs against any evidence that has been provided. Also, its a matter of fact that Abramovich actually spent a lot of his own money to invest in Chukotkan development to create schools, hospitals etc.
The resulting scandal forced him to not run for re-election (Putin is very publicly against Russian robber barons, although privately he typically helps them and relies on their support). Political pressure inspired Roman to start divesting himself of assets in Russia - after all, Putin had taken assets of other oligarchs after similar scandals - and Roman decides to start living in a certain English city.
Roman and Putin are actually friends and have a good relationship from all accounts. He has certainly not "fled Russia" because he's afraid Putin will imprison him.
I'm not saying that Abramovich may have been completely innocent; but there is a huge amount of speculation in the writer's writing and a bunch of sources. On top of that, many of them exaggerate the negative actions of Abramovich; some of the practices are also commonly practiced Western countries. Regardless, I'm just commenting on the quality of the writer's post here and my personal opinions are reserved. I'm just trying to offer a flip side to everyone before the pitch forks come out.