Multi-million euro laundering case to go before court

A case involving allegations of money laundering activities against a 31-year-old Ukrainian woman who is accused of transferring millions of euros to Cyprus in recent months is expected to be brought in front of the Nicosia district court on Thursday.

The woman was arrested for money laundering and remanded after reporting that she had been robbed of €420,000 in cash.

According to police spokesperson Christos Andreou, the remand order against the suspect expires on Thursday, and the case file, concerning money laundering offences related to illegal activities, will be submitted to the court for referral to the criminal court.

The spokesperson also added that the 31-year-old had already been under investigation by the authorities, as she allegedly transferred over €6 million in seven months.

The woman declared the money to the customs department on her arrivals to the island, but police now believe her explanations for the money to be “insufficient”.

More specifically, she said the sum of money corresponded to the amount of a loan she had taken out to buy a residential unit in Cyprus. However, when interrogated, she gave a different version to police investigators, saying that the amount came from her personal savings.

The contradictions triggered the police to start looking into a case of money laundering involving other people.

Investigations regarding the route and final recipients of the money are ongoing at the police headquarters and assistance has been requested from the anti-money laundering unit (Mokas).

Although Mokas deals primarily in offences involving financial transactions that leave traces in the financial system, such as bank transfers, rather than gross cash sums, it will nevertheless be able to request assistance from similar bodies operating in other countries, in order to be able to access international databases.

A broad meeting discussing the case and the way forward to investigate it was underway on Wednesday. It was attended by the deputy chief of police Demetris Demetriou, the customs department director Theodora Demetriou and Mokas head Maria Antoniou.

“Regarding this matter, the competent prosecutorial authorities of the Republic are collaborating and coordinating within the framework of existing national legislation as well as their European obligations,” a statement released after the meeting said.

“The case in question is under investigation, and at this stage, no further statements can be made on the matter.”

The 31-year-old had reported being a victim of robbery on a coastal road in Limassol, by two individuals riding motorcycles. According to her account, the perpetrators stole a bag containing 420,000 euros.

During interrogation, she gave out contradictory statements and did not cooperate with the investigative authorities.

Based on examinations of closed-circuit footage and testimonies, police are not dismissing the possibility that the robbery and theft of the money may have been orchestrated in order to divert the attention from a potential case of money laundering.