‘Matter of time’ before arrest of Ukrainian woman

The 31-year-old Ukrainian woman suspected of money laundering is not cooperating with authorities, police spokesman Christos Andreou said on Tuesday.

She is currently a serving a five-day remand order, which was issued on Saturday, and her statements have “many inconsistencies,” Andreou told the state broadcaster.

The woman carried out 15 trips to the island over a span of seven months, declaring “large sums of money.” She travelled to Cyprus from the EU but “mostly from the same” country, he said.

Andreou did not wish to delve into details about which country she travelled from or the direction police’s investigation is taking.

He did stress that authorities became suspicious when the “number of back-and-forth’s increased.”

Police would have arrested her eventually, whether the robbery had been reported or not, he added. She was arrested the day after she reported being robbed of over €400,000 cash in her bag.

The spokesman said police is exploring whether “there was something else” behind the robbery, but underlined the suspect is not giving clear answers.

Earlier in the day, the customs office issued an announcement saying that under the present rules, €100,000 or more in declared cash prompts the customs office to notify police on the matter.