Cyprus strengthens counter terrorism measures says US state department

Cyprus has strengthened its counter-terrorism measures as close cooperation with the US, the EU and key institutions has secured its banking sector, a US State Department report said.

The report, released this week and covering the year 2020, also details the creation of Cyclops, a US funded $5m training facility, which “will strengthen regional border security and counter-terrorism efforts, including customs and export controls, port and maritime security, and cybersecurity.”

Among the improvements noted by the report was the scrapping of the ‘controversial’ citizenship-by-investment scheme, following an Al Jazeera expose that “revealed widespread corruption”.

It noted that: “Termination of the programme will help prevent terrorists, and their sponsors and financiers, from buying an EU passport and the enhanced access to EU financial systems that comes with it.”

In November the United States and the Republic marked the second anniversary of the joint Statement of Intent on Security Cooperation, noting progress on several fronts.

In June the FBI and the Cyprus Police finalised the technical details that would allow the secure exchange of fingerprints under the US-Cyprus Preventing and Combating Serious Crime agreement.

The report reiterated that Cyprus is a member of Moneyval and underwent a mutual evaluation report, while its financial intelligence unit (Mokas) is a member of the Egmont Group.