Filenews 10 May 2023 - by Fanis Makrides
Documents with the corporate structure of companies and the interconnection between them that led to the decision to impose sanctions on natural and legal persons from Cyprus, were sent by US authorities to the Cypriot government. These are 800 pages which, according to stockwatch, which brought the matter to light, have been available to the Cypriot state since Monday.
As a competent source told "F", these documents sent by the Americans substantiate their decision to impose large-scale sanctions affecting Cyprus. "They justify why they imposed sanctions and cite the web of companies and their officials that led them to their known decisions," the person added.
On April 12, the U.S. Treasury's OFAC office decided to impose sanctions on nine individuals – including well-known lawyer Christodoulos Vassiliadis – and 18 business entities. The United States believed it had aided the work of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov. The well-known billionaire with properties in Germany and England has reportedly concealed assets to avoid being frozen due to the restrictive measures against him. The West has deemed the latter to fuel Russia's war machine, particularly its invasion of Ukraine.
The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, commenting yesterday morning on the whole issue at the 13th Nicosia Economic Congress, said that the Cypriot authorities have received the first package of information from the US regarding natural and legal persons included in the US sanctions list.
He added that two more packages are expected in the near future, while he said that the first package has already been referred to the Attorney General. In previous statements, Nikos Christodoulides had said that Cyprus would preserve its credibility and that he would seek data to see if there were any illegalities on the part of Greek Cypriot service providers.
Identical were the positions expressed by the President of the Republic yesterday afternoon, following the annual General Assembly of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber in Limassol. "We will do everything possible in all areas to preserve the name of our country", was his characteristic statement after a question from "F".
Moreover, "F" reports that the Cyprus Bar Association has already requested the documents of the Americans in letters sent yesterday to the President of the Republic and the Attorney General, George Savvides, respectively.
The aim is for these documents to be put before the three-member committee set up by the GPP. This consists of an investigative expert, the director of the supervisory office of the Cyprus Bar Association and a member of the supervision department of the GPP. This committee will also receive data from law firms that served entrepreneurs, who have been sanctioned so far (from 2/2022 until today). These lawyers have been given until next week. All data will be examined by the three-member committee, which will make recommendations depending on its findings. It is noted that last Thursday Christodoulos Vassiliades (whose name is also included in the list of British sanctions), who from the first moment denied any illegality or irregularity on the part of himself and his law firm, forwarded a voluminous file with data to the Cyprus Bar Association. This is in an attempt to substantiate his positions.
