Inquiry follows report by Guardian and partners that aides of Russian oligarch appeared to have falsified paperwork mapping his businesses Police in Cyprus have opened an investigation into the financial and tax affairs of the former Chelsea FC owner, Roman Abramovich, following a report by the Guardian and media partners.

In a committee hearing in the Cypriot parliament, a senior official in the island’s police said they were looking into events between 2003 and 2006, with the probe likely to last several months.