The Cyprus Independent Authority Against Corruption has rejected any link between Yiannis Misirlis, the son-in-law of former President Nicos Anastasiades, and the naturalisation of Russian billionaire Victor Pichugov.
The Authority’s finding dismisses the central allegation contained in a complaint filed by AKEL MP Christos Christofides.
The complaint centred on the fact that Promsvyazbank, whose former major shareholder (Pichugov) received a Cypriot passport, purchased a building from Misirlis’s company, Imperio Properties, to house its Cyprus offices. The implication was that this property transaction was directly connected to the former executive’s naturalisation.
The report from the Independent Authority Against Corruption first dismissed the claim that the 2008 sale price (€4,700,000) was excessive. Furthermore, regarding the suspicion of a link between the property sale and the golden passport, the report states that “from the information it was possible to collect, there is no reasonable suspicion of corruption offences to be investigated.”
Complainant MP alleges delay and conflict of interest
In a response, AKEL MP Christos Christofides issued a statement criticising the Authority’s investigation process, alleging that the “excessive delay undermined the ability to substantiate the complaint” and pointed to what he called “an obvious conflict of interest” among those appointed to the probe.
Christofides stated that the three-year and three-month delay since the first complaint was lodged was substantial and “undermined the ability to substantiate the case.” He reminded that initially, the investigation was assigned to “two retired civil servants without the required experience,” resulting in their resignation a year later.
The MP pointed out that the subsequent appointment of new officials posed a problem, as some had a “visible conflict of interest due to their previous appointments by the DISY–Anastasiades government.” He argued that this fact alone “damaged the necessary image of objectivity.”
Christofides added that the Authority’s finding that “criminal offences have not been substantiated with evidence” does not negate the existence of a clear conflict of interest. “That it does not constitute illegality does not mean it is morally blameless,” he said. The MP concluded by demanding that for transparency purposes, the Audit Office report, prepared in December 2023 concerning the facts surrounding his complaints, should be made public.
Authority could not find contact person from Promsvyazbank
The Authority’s report noted that officials were unable to locate any authorised person from Promsvyazbank, as the company has not conducted banking operations in Cyprus since 2019. Furthermore, attempts by Authority officials to locate the bank’s Chairman of the Board from 2006 to 2018 were unsuccessful, noting that his declared apartment address is constantly closed.
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