Two arrested for money laundering freed

The two men arrested in Limassol earlier this month on suspicion of money laundering were freed on Wednesday.

A police spokesperson told the Cyprus Mail that the pair had been freed without conditions after their latest remand expired, and that the case file had now been handed to the Legal Service.

The pair, aged 41 and 34 years old, had previously been handed five-day remands last Friday, but those remands were not renewed on Wednesday. They deny all accusations.

The 41-year-old suspect was accused of having set up a “gallery” which was allegedly being used as a front for money laundering.

His wife testified last Friday that her husband has an office in the gallery and that he works there every day. She said he was aware of the safes which were located there, but that he did not have access to them.

She added that he would not have been aware of the transfer of envelopes full of cash and described the second suspect as a family friend, although she added that she did not know whether he worked for her husband.

When he testified, the 34-year-old said he received a fee from the other suspect and knew him well.

He also admitted to having received envelopes from the other suspect and having delivered them to a hotel car park in Yermasoyia, to a supermarket, and to bars owned by Russian and Ukrainian nationals.

However, he insisted that the envelopes were related to the payment of salaries and equipment for the restaurants the other suspect jointly owned, as well as payments to a person from whom he intended to buy a restaurant.

Police arrested the pair after placing the gallery under surveillance last week. They arrested the 34-year-old after he left the building, finding a total of 17 envelopes full of cash inside a bag he was carrying.

The amount of cash on his person amounted to €161,425.

The 41-year-old was arrested later as he was the property’s owner.