Ukrainian in custody until money laundering trial

The Larnaca district court on Wednesday remanded a 43-year-old Ukrainian national in custody until the start of his trial on April 17 for being the suspected recipient of millions of euros brought to Cyprus since August 2023 by a 31-year-old woman from Ukraine.

The man, who denies the charges, was referred to trial last Friday and will be jointly tried with the Ukrainian woman. He is under investigation for several offences, including conspiracy to commit espionage, money laundering, participation in criminal activities and participation in a criminal organisation.

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

According to reports, testimonies were obtained that, before police arrived at the scene, the woman entered a restaurant and handed a paper bag containing money that had fallen to the ground during the robbery to the 43-year-old man.

During Wednesday’s court proceedings, the man’s defence lawyers, Marinos Kaoulas and Antonis Demetriou, unsuccessfully pleaded for his release until trial.

In their client’s defence, they stated that the man is not involved in the case and that, if he intended to flee, he would not have voluntarily presented himself to the police last Thursday.

The court viewed the CCTV video showing him receiving the paper bag from the 31-year-old Ukrainian woman. He admitted to having received the bag but claimed that it contained clothes and other personal items belonging to the woman, which he subsequently handed over to her husband.

The explanation did not satisfy the court, who remanded the 43-year-old in custody until April 17.

The woman is believed to have brought €8 million in cash to Cyprus through as many as 20 trips in the past year.

The case is also being investigated by the anti-money laundering unit (Mokas).