Newsroom
Cyprus is breathing life back into a defunct company once linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, not to do business, but to collect what it’s owed.
The company, Blue Ocean Yacht Management Ltd., was officially re-registered last week by court order after it had been struck off the registry last year. Why the comeback? Because the company still owes the Cypriot state roughly €25 million in unpaid taxes and interest, and now, the Tax Department is preparing to launch criminal prosecutions against those responsible.
“We will take this all the way,” Tax Commissioner Sotiris Markides told CNA. “Our legal team is working on it, and there will be no exceptions.”
A company that "never really died"
The company, first registered in Cyprus in 2002, was removed from the registry in July 2024 after years of non-compliance, including having no active directors. But the Tax Department had objected to its removal because of the outstanding debt. After that objection was inexplicably withdrawn, the company was deregistered.
That sparked concern and discussion in parliament. In response, the Tax Department went back to court and successfully secured a re-registration order. Under Cypriot law, that means the company is now treated as if it had never been deleted in the first place.
“We had to bring it back on the books so we could pursue legal action,” said Registrar of Companies Irene Mylona Chrysostomou. “The company is still non-compliant, but now we can act.”
Who’s to blame?
The unpaid taxes reportedly date back to 2012 and earlier. The Tax Department is now zeroing in on the directors who were listed at the time the debts were incurred. These individuals could soon be facing criminal charges for failing to ensure the company paid its VAT obligations.
Markides confirmed that prosecutions are being prepared and could move forward before the court system’s summer break. “We will proceed based on what the law allows,” he said. “No one is above it.”
A wider issue
The case has raised questions about how inactive companies are handled in Cyprus and whether others with debts to the state may be slipping through the cracks. The registrar has promised a renewed effort to clean up the companies registry and notify government departments before any future removals.
But for now, all eyes are on Blue Ocean Yacht Management Ltd., a company that once quietly managed luxury yachts and is now at the center of a high-profile tax and accountability case.
