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12° Nicosia,
15 October, 2024
 

Lawyers challenge money laundering watchdog in Cyprus

Lawyers lead the resistance amid struggles to implement supervisory framework in Cyprus

Newsroom

Establishing a system to oversee financial companies in Cyprus is proving tricky, according to an article written by Apostolos Tomaras. It all started when the US and UK slapped sanctions on Russia, and some Cypriot firms got caught in the crossfire. Now, talks to set up a supervisory authority are stuck, with folks not agreeing on how it should work.

The government is under pressure to fix things because some Cyprus companies got hit with those sanctions. But others who might be under this new authority aren't too keen on the idea. These disagreements are causing a bit of a stir, especially with the Americans, who have praised Cyprus for its efforts against money laundering, despite the hiccups.

Lawyers are a big part of the hold-up. They're not happy about giving control to some outside authority. Progress on making the rules stronger has been slow, and a recent meeting didn't help. The government shared a plan that lawyers say is a total U-turn from what they'd agreed on before.

The government wants one big authority to keep an eye on all financial companies. But lawyers say that's not what they'd discussed earlier. They're worried it might not even be legal. The government is trying to play it cool, hoping to sort things out and show it's serious about fixing past problems.

But the situation is still dicey. Over 140 Cyprus companies or people have already been hit with sanctions for breaking the rules. And the latest addition to the list is a Russian-linked company named TOKENTRUST HOLDINGS LIMITED, showing the issue isn't going away anytime soon.

 The list of the 140 sanctioned:

1. AHETEI LIMITED RUSSIA

2. ALAYNE INVESTMENTS LIMITED RUSSIA

3. ALFA CAPITAL MARKETS LTD RUSSIA

4. ALMENOR HOLDINGS LIMITED RUSSIA

5. ALWEFAQ LTD LIBYA

6. AQUILA CAPITAL GROUP RUSSIA

7. ARASH SHIPPING ENTERPRISES LIMITED IRAN

8. ARIMERO HOLDING LIMITED RUSSIA

9. ARTA SHIPPING ENTERPRISES LIMITED IRAN

10. ASTRAFTEROS TECHNOKOSMOS LTD RUSSIA

11. ATTIKOURIS, Kyriakos RUSSIA

12. AZIA SHIPPING HOLDINGS LIMITED RUSSIA

13. AZORIA SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED RUSSIA

14. BASHKIROV, Aleksei Vladimirovich RUSSIA

15. BOM ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD UKRAINE

16. BOM PROJECT FINANCING LTD UKRAINE

17. BONUM CAPITAL CYPRUS LTD RUSSIA

18. BUOYANT HOLDINGS LIMITED GLOMAG

19. CALIBER WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD RUSSIA

20. CAROIL TRANSPORT MARINE LTD VENEZUELA

21. CASPIAN MARITIME LIMITED IRAN

22. CHARSO LIMITED GLOMAG

23. CHRISTODOULOS G. VASSILIADES & CO. LLC RUSSIA

24. CROSSPLANET LTD UKRAINE

25. D.C.H. DREAM CREATORS HOLDINGS LTD GLOMAG

26. DANA HOLDINGS LIMITED BELARUS

27. DANESH SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

28. DAVAR SHIPPING CO LTD IRAN

29. E.K.-ULTRA FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED SYRIA

30. ELIXON SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED RUSSIA

31. ERINER LIMITED RUSSIA

32. EZEGOO INVESTMENTS LTD SYRIA

33. FINROST LIMITED GLOMAG

34. FORTIANA HOLDINGS LIMITED RUSSIA

35. FRUMINETI INVESTMENTS LTD SYRIA

36. GBD LIMITED RUSSIA

37. GEORGIOU, Marilena RUSSIA

38. GIANNAKOU, Kostas RUSSIA

39. GLORINA SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED RUSSIA

40. GMI GLOBAL MANUFACTURING & INTEGRATION LTD RUSSIA

41. GPB FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED UKRAINE

42. GPB-DI HOLDINGS LIMITED UKRAINE

43. GRAWIT LIMITED GLOMAG

44. HADI SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

45. HADLERCO LIMITED RUSSIA

46. HALEEL FINANCE LTD SDGT

47. HALEEL HOLDINGS LTD SDGT

48. HALEEL LTD SDGT

49. HAMOU, Sara Aleksandra Fayssal CYBER2

50. HARAZ SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

51. HATEF SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

52. HEADEY INVESTMENTS LIMITED RUSSIA

53. HIGHTRAIL LTD RUSSIA

54. HIRMAND SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

55. HODA SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

56. HOMA SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

57. HONAR SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

58. HUDSOTRADE LIMITED SYRIA

59. HURIYA PRIVATE CYPRUS LTD RUSSIA

60. HURIYA PRIVATE FZE LLE RUSSIA

61. IBEX SHIPPING INC RUSSIA

62. IONICS NOMINEES LIMITED RUSSIA

63. IPP OIL PRODUCTS (CYPRUS) LIMITED UKRAINE

64. IRONHILL HOLDINGS LIMITED RUSSIA

65. IRONSTONE MARINE INVESTMENTS RUSSIA

66. ITC CONSULTANTS CYPRUS LIMITED RUSSIA

67. KAMPERI, Kyriaki Demetriou RUSSIA

68. KLARET AVIATION LIMITED RUSSIA

69. KLIOSA LIMITED RUSSIA

70. KOCHAROVA, Gulnoz Zunnurovna RUSSIA

71. KURBANOV, Nurmurad BELARUS

72. LAR VORTO SERVICES LIMITED RUSSIA

73. LEDRA NOMINEES LIMITED RUSSIA

74. LEDRA TRUSTEE SERVICES LIMITED RUSSIA

75. LEDRA TRUSTEES LIMITED RUSSIA

76. MASTERSKILL INVESTMENTS LIMITED RUSSIA

77. MATEAS LIMITED RUSSIA

78. MEHRAN SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

79. MERSAD SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

80. MIKAM HOLDINGS LIMITED RUSSIA

81. MINAB SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

82. MIRAMONTE INVESTMENTS LIMITED RUSSIA

83. MOONSTORM ENTERPRISES LIMITED GLOMAG

84. MUSBAH, Nourddin Milood M LIBYA

85. NAGELFAR TRADE AND INVEST LIMITED UKRAINE

86. NAI LOGISTICS LIMITED GLOMAG

87. OCEAN EUROPE CY LIMITED GLOMAG

88. OGC-VICTORIA HOLDING LTD IFSR; SDGT

89. OMNIA SERVICES CYPRUS LTD RUSSIA

90. O'NEILL ASSETS CORPORATION RUSSIA

91. OTKRITIE CAPITAL CYPRUS LIMITED RUSSIA

92. OTKRITIE LTD GROUP RUSSIA

93. PALNYCHENKO, Igor RUSSIA

94. PERSIAN GULF SHIPPING LINES LTD IRAN

95. PETROV, Artur Aleksandrovich RUSSIA

96. PIRUSETI ENTERPRISES LTD SYRIA

97. PITARON LIMITED RUSSIA

98. PLAHOTNIUC, Vladimir GLOMAG

99. PRIMAX BUSINESS CONSULTANTS LIMITED SYRIA

100. PROTON PETROCHEMICALS SHIPPING LIMITED IRAN

101. PYRAMAXIA LIMITED GLOMAG

102. RETTICH, Inga RUSSIA

103. RG HOLDINGS LTD GLOMAG

104. RISEONIC HOLDINGS LTD GLOMAG

105. ROBARIN LTD RUSSIA

106. ROSNEFT TRADE LIMITED UKRAINE

107. RUSSIAN TITANIUM RESOURCES LIMITED RUSSIA

108. SALTCLIFF TRADING LIMITED RUSSIA

109. SAMAN SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

110. SAVOLER DEVELOPMENT LIMITED RUSSIA

111. SCF MANAGEMENT SERVICES CYPRUS LTD RUSSIA

112. SERGHIDES, Demetrios RUSSIA

113. SOMMEN SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED RUSSIA

114. SOUTHPORT MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED UKRAINE

115. SOVCOMBANK SECURITIES LIMITED RUSSIA

116. STANMIX HOLDING LIMITED RUSSIA

117. STELLA LEONE LIMITED BELARUS

118. STROYTRANSGAZ HOLDING UKRAINE

119. TAMANI-PHELLA, Aegli RUSSIA

120. TARDIGRADE LIMITED GLOMAG

121. TC SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED IRAN

122. TERRA-AZ LIMITED RUSSIA

123. THE MOTHER ARK LTD RUSSIA

124. TOKENTRUST HOLDINGS LIMITED RUSSIA

125. TRANSADRIA LTD PEESA

126. VAKANAS, Antonis Kyriakou RUSSIA

127. VASSILIADES, Anna Maria RUSSIA

128. VASSILIADES, Christodoulos Georgiou RUSSIA

129. VELES INTERNATIONAL LIMITED RUSSIA

130. VFC SOLUTIONS LTD RUSSIA

131. VOLFOVICH, Alexander RUSSIA

132. VOLFOVICH, Ariel RUSSIA

133. VOLFOVICH, Stanislav RUSSIA

134. WADI, Musbah Mohamad M LIBYA

135. WALDAU INVESTMENTS LIMITED RUSSIA

136. WHITE SEAL HOLDINGS LIMITED UKRAINE

137. WHITELEAVE HOLDINGS LIMITED RUSSIA

138. WINDFEL PROPERTIES LIMITED RUSSIA

139. ZEM HOLDINGS LTD GLOMAG

140. ZIMENKOV, Igor Vladimirovich

[This article was translated and summarized for clarity and brevity]

TAGS
Cyprus  |  sanctions  |  Russia  |  USA

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