In two separate cases included in Mafia State, the Anti-Corruption Authority recommends that the law firm Nicos Chr. Anastasiades & Partners be investigated for money laundering. The firm is 50% owned by the two daughters of Nicos Anastasiades. In its recent multi-page report, the Authority also refers to transactions amounting to hundreds of millions of euros routed through the Caribbean that are allegedly linked to illicit funds.
The flawed investigation
The first case, for which a criminal investigation is also suggested against former prosecutor and head of MOKAS, Eva Rossidou Papakyriakou, relates to a report published on 14 August 2019 by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) titled “Banking records link the President of Cyprus (Nicos Anastasiades) to the ‘Troika Laundromat’.”
The report alleged that the law firm Nicos Chr. Anastasiades & Partners facilitated money laundering by moving millions of dollars between shell companies and acting as an intermediary in banking transactions for high-risk clients.
As revealed in the Anti-Corruption Authority’s findings, although MOKAS – which reports to the Attorney General – had received an official referral from an auditing firm regarding the specific transactions cited in the OCCRP report, it took no action. It only became involved after public intervention by Nicos Anastasiades, who requested that the matter be investigated.
Investigators noted with concern that, although MOKAS findings are not typically made public, prosecutor Eva Rossidou Papakyriakou issued a public statement on 20 December 2019 announcing that “nothing reprehensible” had emerged, effectively clearing President Anastasiades and the law firm bearing his name.
Regarding this case, the Authority highlights the following:
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The transaction records displayed clear indications of possible money laundering, including the use of shell companies registered in the Caribbean, which routed transactions totalling $220 million through high-risk jurisdictions. These included intra-company financing arrangements, such as capital injections and loans to related parties, as well as the restructuring of major loan agreements at 0% interest.
According to the report, such practices could serve as mechanisms to obscure the true origin of funds, yet they were allegedly ignored during the MOKAS investigation. -
The findings issued by MOKAS did not accurately reflect the incriminating evidence collected during the investigation into the OCCRP allegations. This raises concerns over deficiencies in the conduct of the investigation, despite the presence of clear warning signs. These findings call into question the completeness, objectivity and reliability of the investigative process.
The Pandora Papers
Two years later, in October 2021, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published hundreds of thousands of leaked files from 14 offshore service providers.
The documents revealed company names and individuals allegedly involved in concealing or legitimising assets through tax havens. These papers became known as the “Pandora Papers”, a name drawn from Greek mythology.
Following their publication, the activities of the law firm Nicos Chr. Anastasiades & Partners once again came under scrutiny, as documents presented it as an intermediary for offshore companies, assisting Russian oligarchs in concealing their true wealth.
Among these clients were Leonid Lebedev and Alexander Abramov, who sought to obtain Cypriot citizenship within a very short timeframe through the law firm.
At the time of their naturalisation procedures (2010–2011), Nicos Anastasiades was both an MP and president of DISY, giving him significant political influence and institutional access.
It was established that Abramov’s citizenship applications were processed and approved without the required verification of the origin of funds, as they relied on recommendations and declarations from individuals within the law firm who “appear not to have acted independently and impartially,” according to the Authority.
Perjury and cover-up
In relation to Lebedev’s naturalisation application, the Nicolatos Committee identified the absence of a required official covering letter, as well as the omission of the fourth page of M127 documents submitted to the Council of Ministers, which identified Elsa Anastasiades, daughter of Nicos Anastasiades, as guarantor.
Partners of the law firm – Fanos Philippou, Stathis Lemis and Elsa Anastasiades – signed the M127 form, falsely declaring that they were not acting as lawyers or representatives of the applicant, despite findings that they were directors of Imperium Nominees, which managed assets worth millions of euros on Lebedev’s behalf.
According to the Anti-Corruption Authority, “through the retention of these billionaire clients and the management of trust agreements and assets, including the €17 million ‘Sinel Trust’, through which Mr Philippou acted as trustee of Mr Lebedev’s funds, financial benefit arises for the law firm”.
This included other advantages, such as the alleged free use of Lebedev’s private jet by Nicos Anastasiades in 2013.
It is also noted that on 12 April 2012, Mr Philippou testified under oath before the Limassol District Court, in a case brought by Commerzbank, that Lebedev did not hold assets in Cyprus. However, documentary evidence indicates that Philippou was personally acting as manager of a €17 million deposit belonging to Lebedev at the Bank of Cyprus since 2007 through the Sinel Trust.
Recommendation for investigation
According to the conclusions of the Anti-Corruption Authority, the partners of the law firm actively participated in concealing the true nature of offshore funds and the identities of their beneficial owners.
Specifically, Mr Philippou is alleged to have submitted false sworn statements while at the same time acting in roles linked to the applicant’s assets.
The Authority recommends that the law firm Nicos Chr. Anastasiades & Partners and its partners be criminally investigated for perjury and money laundering.
In relation to money laundering, it notes that the use of offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands, the conversion of debt into share capital and the arbitrary reclassification of financial flows between debt and interest-free loans constitute classic methods of laundering illicit funds, aimed at concealing financial traces from regulatory oversight.
The Authority also refers to the role played by Nicos Anastasiades in the issuance of the above “golden passports” and recommends that the former President be investigated for influence peddling and abuse of power.
