With the billions he made at the expense of Russian taxpayers, Roman Abramovich bought six luxury superyachts over the years. Among them were the 162-metre-long Eclipse, with swimming pools, helipads and a missile defence system - and the Pelorus - sometimes lent to Chelsea footballers.They could each cost up to one and a half million dollars just to re-fuel. If they’d been declared as being for his own personal use, VAT would have been payable on costs like that. Instead, for more than a decade, tax authorities were led to believe the superyachts were being rented out to commercial customers.
Financial investigations correspondent Andy Verity working with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Guardian discovers that the firms renting the boats ultimately belonged to a trust held by - Roman Abramovich. Under the scheme devised for him, the sanctioned oligarch was hiring out his superyachts - to himself. Mr Abramovich has denied either directing or knowing of any deception.Reporter: Andy Verity
Producer: Paul Grant
Editor: Richard Vadon
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Cannabis Kids: The parents breaking the law to help their children with epilepsy
Tens of thousands of children and young people across the UK suffer from severe forms of epilepsy which are resistant to treatment.
For those with intractable epilepsy the options for treatment are limited and the risk of a catastrophic seizure is very real.
But a growing body of evidence has pointed to cannabis having a positive effect on preventing seizures even in people who don't respond to other drugs.
In 2018, medicinal cannabis was legalised following a high profile campaign led by parents of children with intractable epilepsy.
They hoped the change in the law would lead to the drug becoming widely available on the NHS.
But more than six years later File on 4 Investigates has discovered families going to extreme lengths to access a drug they say is keeping their children alive.
Reporter Alastair Fee meets families who claim they have been forced to give their children illegal cannabis sourced online and follows others who regularly break the law importing medicine from the Netherlands.
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Bad Medicine: Inside the hospital trust at centre of a police investigation
Michael Buchanan examines why the University Hospitals Sussex NHS trust, once considered one of England’s best, has now got the largest number of patients waiting over 18 months for treatment. On top of this there is a growing police investigation into allegations of poor care.Rporter: Michael Buchanan
Producer: Charlotte Rowles
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Richard Vadon
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The abuse survivors calling on archbishop of York to resign
The BBC's religion editor Aleem Maqbool hears from sexual abuse victims who say they were let down by senior church leaders for decades. Priest David Tudor was allowed to continue working within the Church of England - despite widespread concerns about his behaviour. Now there are calls for the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell to resign over his handling of the case. He is due to take temporary charge of the church in the New Year following the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. The Church of England says File on 4's investigation into the case of David Tudor has 'revealed a catalogue of past safeguarding decisions, that allowed someone who was considered a risk in the 1980s to return to ministry in the 1990s.' This, they say, should never have happened.Reporter: Aleem Maqbool
Producers: Steve Swann and Hayley Mortimer
Technical producer: Craig Boardman
Production coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Carl Johnston
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The International Student Scandal
Universities in the UK are facing a financial crisis, and with fears some may become bankrupt many institutions are making savings by cutting courses and staff numbers. Falling numbers of international students, who pay higher fees than their domestic counterparts, is partly to blame for the funding gap. File on 4 investigates if universities have become too reliant on overseas students, in some cases favouring the ability to pay over academic ability and overlooking the poor English language skills of some of those they enrol - even ignoring concerns over cheating. It also hears from a whistleblower about the multi-million-pound recruitment industry that feeds students from abroad into universities here – all at a cost.Reporter: Paul Kenyon
Producer: Fergus Hewison
Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Carl Johnston
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