The Independent Authority Against Corruption has ordered a probe into two cases linked to the now-defunct Cyprus Citizenship by Investment scheme, that are related to the conservative Disy party and the Nicos Anastasiades administration.
The first case involves five foreign investors who obtained Cypriot citizenship after making contributions to the then-ruling party.
The second case pertains to four individuals of Russian origin, who were also naturalised citizens through the scheme. These individuals were connected to the Russian bank Promsvyazbank. The bank operated in Cyprus and was housed in a building in Limassol built by a construction company founded by Yiannis Misirlis, the son-in-law of the former President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades.
According to Phileleftheros sources, the anti-corruption watchdog has initiated examination processes for both cases, by appointing two investigative officers, both of Greek-Cypriot nationality. One is an economist, and the other is an independent insurance advisor and risk manager. Their mission is to scrutinise whether any wrongdoing or conflict of interest happened, especially since these cases are directly or indirectly tied to political figures who held government positions.
The cases were brought to the attention of the Authority by Akel MP Christos Christofides in September 2022.
It is worth noting that the first case – concerning the donations made to Disy – stirred public debate last September after Christofides’ allegations were presented to the Parliament.
In his statement at the time, the left-wing MP indicated that five individuals had contributed a total amount of €205,000 to the party shortly before or after obtaining Cypriot citizenship. He raised questions about a direct link between their contributions and their naturalisation process.
Moreover, he named the investors: Al Saaty Sabah (date of naturalisation: 31/7/2018 – contribution of €50,000 in 2019), Salem Abukheizran (date of naturalisation: 12/12/2016 – contribution of €40,000 in 2018), Dmitry Chipliev (date of naturalisation: 16/7/2014 – contributions of €50,000 in 2017 and €25,000 in 2016), Tarek Sadi Moamen (date of naturalisation: 25/7/2019 – contribution of €20,000 in 2018), and Yan Lugen (contribution of €20,000 on 26/9/2018 and €20,000 in 2019 from Holimax Investment Ltd, where Yan Lugen is listed as a co-owner).
As for the second case, it involves four individuals with ties to the Russian bank Promsvyazbank, according to Phileleftheros. The four persons obtained Cypriot citizenship between 2017 and 2018. The bank was headquartered in a building in Limassol constructed by Imperio Properties, a company founded by Yiannis Misirlis, the son-in-law of former President Nicos Anastasiades.
In response to Phileleftheros publishing the allegations of conflict of interest on February 18, 2023, Imperio Properties responded with a statement, dismissing them as baseless.
The statement highlighted that the building was sold to Promsvyazbank in 2008 during the Akel-led Demetris Christofias administration. Additionally, it pointed out that some of the individuals who were later naturalised had no connection to Promsvyazbank when the building was sold. Therefore, the subsequent naturalisations were unrelated to the property transaction, the statement wrote.
“The same baseless allegations resurfaced in 2019. Despite providing sufficient answers on the matter, they have resurfaced in recent days,” Imperio stated.
