2023-11-15 00:06:00
An investigation by an international consortium of journalists points the finger at the Mediterranean island that serves as a hub for Russian oligarchs.
Cyprus promised on Tuesday to investigate alleged violations of sanctions imposed against Moscow, revealed by an investigation by an international consortium of journalistsaccording to which the Mediterranean island is a hub of Russian money laundering.
According to an investigation carried out by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and 67 partner media outlets, published on Tuesday, Cyprus “plays an even greater role than was generally known in the transfer of dirty money on behalf of of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other dictators.
The Consortium claims to have examined confidential documents covering the period from the mid-1990s until April 2022 and including organizational charts, financial statements, bank account applications and emails.
“Everything that has been revealed will be investigated.”
These documents “provide in-depth insight into the crooked financial system that helped empower some of the West’s most determined enemies,” says the investigation, titled, in English, “Cyprus Confidential.”
“Everything that has been revealed will be investigated and no one is above the reputation of our country,” responded President Nikos Christodoulides.
“All the information that has been revealed will be investigated within a specific time frame (…) The reputation of our country, the credibility of our country (…) is crucial,” he said. declared to journalists.
Cyprus, a member of the European Union, is regularly singled out as a refuge for Russian oligarchs to launder their money and circumvent European and American sanctions imposed on Moscow.
A large Russian community on the island
The island has for years been home to a large Russian community, particularly in Limassol on the south coast, which hosts wealthy Russian nationals.
Last April, Cyprus announced that it had taken tough measures against people accused by the United States and the United Kingdom of having helped Russian oligarchs to circumvent sanctions. But the ICIJ, whose investigation lasted eight months, reports a “long-standing hegemony” of Russia over the Cypriot political and financial worlds, which are deeply intertwined.
In recent years, the Cypriot authorities have closed 43,000 fictitious companies and 123,000 “suspicious” bank accounts, the central bank said in April. Only 2.2% of all bank deposits on the island currently belong to Russians, according to the same source.
Thirteen Cypriot or dual national “financiers” have been sanctioned by the United Kingdom and the United States for helping Russian oligarchs hide their assets following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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