Akel: Cyprus has earned a horrific name for itself, in light of sanctions

Opposition party Akel on Wednesday latched onto the developments surrounding the sanctions saying Cyprus has earned a horrific name for itself across the globe, with the previous government “closing its eyes to the problem.”

“We hear that there are meetings after meetings at the presidential palace. But it will be the results that count,” the party said in a statement.

Cyprus’ chase for profit without heeding caution to any consequences “is a price we have to pay” and a matter for the new government to tackle. To this end, transparency is key for this.

“There need to be proper investigations and those guilty should be answerable.”

Meanwhile, general manager of the institute of certified public accountants (Selk) Kyriakos Iordanou said that revelations of a Cyprus-based company which may have violated EU sanctions for almost three years is “old news”.

Responding to a series of damning reports by The Guardian and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Iordanou told the state broadcaster the association had been aware of the matter at the time but refrained from divulging what steps it had taken.

According to the reports, Cyprus-based company Meritservus and its director Demetris Ioannides, continued to assist Russian Konstantin Malofeyev for around three years despite EU sanctions against him, helping with over US$35 million in transactions.

Malofeyev was sanctioned in 2014 but the company only alerted authorities in 2017, The Guardian reported.

Last week, both Meriservus and Ioannides were sanctioned by the UK government.

OCCRP quoted Iordanou as saying it had “summoned MeritServus to its offices” in May 2017 after learning of its work for Malofeev. It reported ICPAC did not penalize MeritServus at the time, but Iordanou said that after the UK’s sanctions “ICPAC will evaluate the situation and consider whether it would be warranted to take any action.”

Iordanou was not immediately available for comment to the Cyprus Mail to elaborate on why action was being considered six years later.

Meanwhile, former Foreign Minister Harris Georgiades lambasted any form of defence surrounding the sanctioned individuals and their actions.

“This approach of trying to find the easy way out, of cutting corners need to stop.”

He stressed suggestions that the narrative that the sanctioned individuals took their actions long before the sanctions came into place should not be regurgitated in that manned.

“Let’s not think we can trick international efforts.”