Cyprus under international scrutiny for sanctions on Russian oligarchs - (video)

Kathimerini.com.cy

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Regarding the levying of sanctions against Russian oligarchs due to the conflict in Ukraine, Cyprus is being closely watched on a global scale. After the Minister of Finance, Constantinos Petrides, spoke with the CBS television network and the program "60 minutes," the issue appears to be taking on dimensions.

In particular, Mr. Petrides stated in his interview that his office had frozen the assets of some people who had received EU sanctions and had revoked the passports of ten people. The Finance Minister, when asked to give "60 Minutes" a list of the names of Russian oligarchs and their seized assets, declined, citing privacy laws.

When asked if one should simply have faith that the Cypriot government is carrying out the sanctions, Petrides responded that Cyprus has demonstrated its dependability as an EU member. Although he added that Cyprus has been unfairly stigmatized, he also acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the past.

Cyprus’s minister of finance told us his office has frozen the assets of some foreigners sanctioned by the EU and is revoking their passports. He declined to provide 60 Minutes with lists of the seized assets, citing data protection rules. https://t.co/3ce6cgxwjm pic.twitter.com/tQ78QtJvEM

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) January 16, 2023

 Petrides' response to Nikolas' attack

Political responses have been sparked by the issue. Nikolas Papadopoulos, the president of DIKO, stated on Twitter that "At the end of the day, our country is the one who suffers when the Finance Minister of our nation's response to the allegations of corruption looked into by the largest international news network is a cover-up. This is the minister that Mr. Averof Neophytou wants to re-appoint."

In response to Papadopoulos, the Finance Minister wrote: "If the implementation of the legislation you passed on personal data protection is a cover-up, I urge you to change it. The CJEU recently ruled that public personal records violate the acquis on the basis of this legislation!"

Αν η εφαρμογή της νομοθεσίας που ψηφίσατε για προστασία προσωπικών δεδομένων αποτελεί συγκάλυψη σας καλώ να την τροποποιήσετε. Είναι με βάση αυτή τη ν/σ που το ΔΕΚ αποφάσισε πρόσφατα ότι τα δημόσια προσωπικά αρχεία αντίκεινται στο κεκτημένο! https://t.co/QzZzVRBXgz

— ConstantinosPetrides (@Petrides_C) January 17, 2023