The Cyprus bar association said on Wednesday it was “surprised” that the Cyprus Public Audit Oversight Board could not back allegations it made in parliament on Monday that lawyers were violating sanctions through Dubai.

In a statement, the bar association said that, during a meeting of the House finance committee on May 12, the general director of the Cyprus Public Audit Oversight Board made “the serious complaint that lawyers and accountants are registering companies in Dubai for clients who have been sanctioned, a position that was reproduced in relevant media reports, with a direct negative impact on the country’s reputation.”

“The representatives of the bar association immediately requested the general director of the Cyprus Public Audit Oversight Board to send us the relevant data for investigation,” the association said.

On the same day, “we sent a letter reiterating the request to provide us with the said data,” it added.

“It was with surprise that we received today, May 14, 2025, a response in which the general director of the Cyprus Public Audit Oversight Board states that he has no specific information about law firms that may be violating sanctions through third countries,” the association said.

The bar association said it expected all the institutions of the Republic of Cyprus to take a serious and responsible position on the very serious issue of the application of sanctions.

“Unsubstantiated allegations that expose the Republic of Cyprus should be avoided,” it added.

It also said it expected its members “to strictly comply with the sanctions framework”, adding that it “clearly supports the strengthening of the sanctions implementation framework in accordance with the provisions of the most recent fourth legislative package of the EU of 2024.”