Nicosia questions sanctions against ‘Russian enablers’

The Cyprus Bar Association is taking up the issue of new sanctions imposed by Washington and London, saying the latest measures against "Russian enablers" unfairly target Cypriot firms’ past actions that were totally legal.

Christos Clerides, who serves as president of the Cyprus Bar Association, said on Tuesday that sanctions against Cypriot firms that do business abroad may be unfairly targeted by the latest American and British sanctions against “Russian enablers.”

Among those sanctioned were two Cypriot professionals accused of enabling and supporting Russian businessmen Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov.

But Clerides, who spoke on state radio Tuesday morning, pointed to cases where those affected had offered legal services in the past, adding he did not favor new sanctions that target “enablers” under the new definition.

“There shouldn’t be any punitive measures for previous actions taken legally,” he said.

Washington has been tightening up enforcement of sanctions against foreign firms, saying the measures were aimed at blocking assistance to Russia amid the war in Ukraine.

A list of new sanctions against entities announced by Washington and London just before Orthodox Easter included Cypriot firms that do business in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

“A new round of designations announced against key individuals and entities enabling Russia’s war against Ukraine have taken effect,” American Ambassador to Cyprus Julie Fisher tweeted last week.

Some reports suggested Washington believed there were irregularities that were being addressed by the latest sanctions, but Clerides said he had no details while Cypriot officials asked their US counterparts to share more information.

According to government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis, President Nicos Christodoulides “considers the entire matter as particularly serious and has issued instructions to thoroughly investigate it.”

While the latest sanctions do not take effect inside the Republic of Cyprus, they focus on Cypriot accounting and law firms that do business abroad.

Clerides said he believed the aim of the new sanctions regime was the freeze of assets for the “enabling professionals” in an effort to deny their ability to service their Russian clients abroad.

“This is how they hope that the top of the pyramid will also collapse,” Clerides argued.