Filenews 15 November 2023 - by Fanis Makrides
The news of the international consortium of journalists ICIJ for the service of Russian tycoon, Alexei Mordashov, by the audit firm PwC, was the one that occupied the Cypriot public opinion during yesterday's first wave of the announced revelations of the consortium of international media.
One of the ten reports posted yesterday on the main website of ICIJ, which appears to have directed this major journalistic investigation, puts forward the clear position that "PwC helped Alexei Mordashov, one of Russia's richest industrialists, transfer an investment fund of $1.4 billion outside his name. in order to evade EU sanctions."
In the flagship of the revealing reports of this consortium, it is also noted that the Cypriot Ministry of Finance is aware of the transfer of a share of shares and that according to a Cypriot official of the Ministry who appears to have spoken this month to the ICIJ network, a relevant criminal investigation is ongoing.
Anastasia Misanina, speaking as Mordashov's spokeswoman, denied any wrongdoing on the part of the businessman. According to the report, the Russian tycoon's associate told ICIJ the following: "All information and notifications of regulatory bodies regarding the transfer of shares were duly communicated to the relevant authorities and made public to the extent legally required." He added: "Not once in his long career has Mr. Mordashov, or any of the companies he runs, broken any law, whether in Europe, Russia or any other jurisdiction."
At the same time, sources close to Cypriot PwC claimed, speaking to "F", that any criminal investigation of the matter does not concern the audit firm.
Another well-known network of investigative journalists, OCCRP, seems to give another dimension to the issue. Specifically, it focuses on the timing of Mordashov's transfer of funds, noting that "PwC Cyprus may have violated EU sanctions by working on the sale of shares on February 28, 2022." European officials told OCCRP affiliates, Paper Trail Media and the Guardian that "sanctions take effect at the beginning of the first hour of the day the sanctions notice is published in the Official Journal." This means that Mordashov was technically under sanctions throughout the day on February 28, 2022, although it is likely that neither he nor PwC were aware of his inclusion in the sanctions until it was announced in the evening."
It should be noted that on February 28, 2022, the European Union placed Mordashov on the sanctions list as part of restrictive measures against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, he froze his assets. In March, Italian police detained one of his yachts, the Lady M..
Evraz
ICIJ in its editorial claims that PwC helped two more Russian oligarchs transfer $100 million. Below is a photo of former Evraz company officials Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov. Evraz produces steel and supplies 97 percent of the lines that use Russian trains to transport munitions and troops to the front of the war with Ukraine. It is noted, among other things, that on March 1, 2022, a director of Cyprus PwC in an urgent message informed a colleague about the intention of the aforementioned entrepreneurs. It added that, two months later, Abramov and Frolov were placed on the British sanctions list as supporters of Russia's war machine. It is also noted that their request for the transfer of funds had been met in the first days of the war from the company's headquarters in London, in a way that is also used to launder money.
Billionaires
Yesterday found several Greek Cypriots involved in public affairs reading the articles with interest, trying to identify points of manifest illegality. What emerges is that from the 3.6 million documents that were leaked, there is enough evidence. It is characteristic to mention that the confidential Cypriot documents include six billionaires. They are Roman Abramovich, Petr Aven, Alexei Mordashov, Rinat Akhmetov, Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov.
"Anastasiades made all this possible"
Nicos Anastasiades is presented by the consortium of investigative journalists ICIJ as responsible for serving Russian interests in times of Western sanctions. In the main of the 10 stories that adorn ICIJ's website, the former President of the Republic is presented by editor Neil Weinberg as the man "who made all this possible". Cyprus ignores Russian atrocities and Western sanctions to protect vast wealth of Putin's allies.
A lawyer who founded a major services firm that attracted Russian clients, Anastasiades served as President of Cyprus from 2013 to early 2023. A 2019 investigation by ICIJ's media partner, OCCRP, said that before he took office, associates at his law firm served as pharmaceutical company officials related to huge suspicions of conducting money smuggling, including deals related to Putin allies. Upon taking office, Anastasiades left office, giving it to two daughters and other associates, and traveled to Moscow, where he met with Putin and secured agreements to promote closer economic and financial relations. (...) In a statement to ICIJ, the firm said: "We want to categorically state that none of the members of our law firm have been charged with any wrongdoing. These accusations are completely baseless and there is no fundamental argument."
The leak
On the website of Reporters United, whose authors were among the 270 involved in this major investigation, they give details of the leaked documents: "Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS – a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing and archiving leaks), Paper Trail Media and the press network Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) obtained the Cyprus Confidential documents in seven separate leaks. They were handed over to ICIJ, which organised them and made them available to the partners through the secure document research platform Datashare. MeritServus and MeritKapital files were obtained by Distributed Denial of Secrets. The files leaked by Cypcodirect, ConnectedSky and i-Cyprus were obtained by Paper Trail Media. In the case of Kallias & Associates, the documents were obtained by Distributed Denial of Secrets, which shared them with Paper Trail Media and ICIJ. The DJC Accountants files were obtained from the OCCRP network."
PRESIDENT CHRISTODOULIDES: "No one above"
The message that everything will be investigated was sent by the President of Democracy, Nikos Christodoulides. In statements last night at an event in Paliometocho, he said, among other things: "(...) Let me remind you that even after the new government took office and on the occasion of the sanctions by the British and the Americans, we proceeded to further strengthen the entire institutional framework. Everything that has come to light will be investigated and, indeed, with a time horizon. I repeat, no one is above the reputation of our country."
