Russian Ambassador Stanislav Osadchiy said the closure of perceived Cyprus shell-companies, as well as EU sanctions has raised concerns in Russian business circles.
Addressing the Russia-Cyprus Business and Investment Forum, Osadchiy said: “The introduction of Europe’s anti-Russian package of sanctions in 2018 and the following campaign of Cyprus’ Central Bank on revealing and closing so-called shell companies led to the closure of tens of thousands of Russian client accounts in Cyprus banks.”
“Some major Russian companies have already left from Cyprus’ jurisdiction or are thinking of doing it.”
He said these developments are not to the benefit of the Cypriot or the Russian economy and hoped these “handicaps in our relations” are temporary.
The Ambassador also said the Forum allows both sides to exchange views on Russian – Cypriot bilateral economic cooperation. For the last years the mutual beneficial cooperation between our countries has been greatly strengthening in a wide spectrum of areas, he went on.
Osadchiy said Cyprus and Russia are currently united by over 50 agreements at state and ministerial levels, creating a solid base for interaction in almost every important field.
Direct investments from Cyprus to Russia amount to $196 bln, while Russian direct investment to Cyprus is worth $176 bln.
The Ambassador to Cyprus also said that Russians comprise one quarter of foreign tourists in Cyprus and were among the first to take advantage of the investment for citizenship programme of the Republic.
“Many Russian companies are either represented or have business on the island. Tens of thousands of our citizens live constantly in Cyprus with the Russian language being the third popular after Greek and English,” said Osadchiy.
“Taking into account our traditional long standing cultural and historic ties, mutual trust and support, we are confident that despite of these difficulties, there are indeed bright prospects for further development of economic partnership between Russia and Cyprus,” he added.
Cyprus has come under increasing pressure from the US to make its financial institutions more transparent and not become a haven for dodgy Russian money.
