The Cyprus Laundromat also Ex-President Nicos Anastasiades Helped Lukashenko Wash Billions and Dodge Sanctions

For years, the European Union has prided itself on its sanctions regime, a tool meant to strangle the financial lifelines of authoritarian regimes. But as an investigation by OCCRP, ZDF, and others reveals, one of the EU’s own—Cyprus, under former President Nicos Anastasiades—was busy running a shadow banking system for the very people Brussels was trying to isolate. At the heart of the scandal is Imperium Nominees, a corporate services provider co-owned by Anastasiades’ daughter Elsa and his long-time business partners. This company acted as the nominal owner for firms belonging to Yuri Chizh, a sanctioned Belarusian oligarch and personal “wallet” for Alexander Lukashenko. While Chizh was officially blacklisted, his Cypriot shells, managed by the president’s family, continued to operate, moving money and shielding assets. It’s a classic case of having your EU cake and eating it too. The Dictator’s Best Friend – Nicos Anastasiades’ Family Firm Served as a Trojan Horse for Sanctioned Belarusian Oligarchs The connections go far deeper than just managing shell companies. The law firm Nicos Chr. Anastasiades & Partners, founded by the ex-president himself, acted as the legal counsel for Profax, one of Chizh’s key holding companies, even while Chizh was under EU sanctions. This [...]

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