Filenews 9 June 2022 - by Fanis Makridis
The curious role of Cyprus in the effort of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to keep his business activities secret, has been highlighted an FBI investigation. As evidenced by the investigative work of the U.S. federal agency, Abramovich, through corporate tricks on our island, acquired two luxury American-made aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 and a Gulfstream, worth a total of $410 million.
This is inferred from the proceedings that took place last Monday (06/06) in a New York Court, which eventually lit green to the US authorities for freezing the aircraft in question. In the affidavit of a special FBI agent for the purposes of issuing the relevant decree, a clear reference is made to two business entities in Cyprus. The latter are allegedly hiding behind the purchase of flying equipment on behalf of the Russian oligarch.
There is a shell company Finservus (Trustees) Limited, which is linked to the International Trust "The Europa Settlement Trust", whose beneficiary is the well-known billionaire. Through these two, then, Chelsea's former strongman acquired the aircraft, leaving no visible traces. The above refers in a clear way to the written request of the FBI executive, which also refers to three other - registered in Virgin Islands and Jersey - companies that participated in the transaction.
As is clear from the American court documents, part of which is made public by "F", Abramovich's aircraft violated explicit US export regulations. According to the accounts, during the first half of March and two weeks after the military invasion of Ukraine, they flew to Russia without the necessary permits and approvals from the relevant office of the Us Department of Commerce.
