A number of publications and independent journalists are currently investigating how Cypriot law firms are helping Russian businessmen to hide their assets in complex financial schemes in Cyprus and the European Union.
Recall that on 12 April 2023, the British and US governments announced the imposition of sanctions «against Russian oligarchs». Law firms and lawyers in Cyprus, who help their clients from Russia to hide their criminal fortunes using the legal system of the Republic of Cyprus, were named as accomplices of the people covered by these sanctions. One such client is the former First Vice President of Rosneft, Mr Anatoly Gavrilovich Loktionov, who is attempting to use the Cypriot judicial system to legalise his money and assets. He is being assisted in this by the law firm MYROFORA A. PASTOU LLC. Unfortunately, Cypriot law firms, as they did 20 years ago, turn a blind eye to the sources of their clients’ wealth.
From 1998 to 2007, Mr A. G. Loktionov was First Vice-President of Rosneft. He was brought into this company on Putin’s patronage together with Igor Sechin. It should be reminded that from 2003 to 2006 Rosneft, with the direct participation and leadership of First Vice-President Loktionov, on the direct orders of Putin, carried out a raider seizure of the Yukos oil company and initiated criminal prosecution of Khodorkovsky. Loktionov, as First Vice President of Rosneft, engaged in tax evasion and the transfer of money outside the Russian Federation to Swiss banks. This money was subsequently shared between Putin, Sechin, Shuvalov and other members of Putin’s team. In 2012, documents were made public which revealed that Loktionov was involved in the legalisation of profits «derived from the corrupt resale of oil and oil products from Rosneft through his own company» and the withdrawal of assets through the Swiss bank BNP PARIBAS. This bank created tools for «laundering» and also advised on how to «whitewash, protect and grow a fortune». All this information was published in the French newspaper Mond, following an investigative journalism report by Swiss Leaks ( https://inright.ru/articles/economy/20130122/id_924 )
In 2018, Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation released the results of an investigation into Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government. Navalny’s FBK published documents about Shuvalov’s London flat, which indicated that this flat was bought by Loktionov for $30 million in Shuvalov’s name. Navalny’s FBK regards this fact as a payment of a share of the looted money to Rosneft, while Mr Loktionov is in charge of the storage, distribution and laundering of this money. Already after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian independent journalists included Mr Loktionov in the list of «70 friends of Putin V. V.». В.» ( https://ru.espreso.tv/70-druzey-putina-na-frantsuzskoy-rivere )
There are journalistic investigations against Loktionov in many countries of the world, but having a huge financial status, diplomatic cover and political connections Loktionov so far manages not to get under sanctions of Great Britain and the USA.
Many Russian businessmen who are directly connected to the Kremlin and are Putin’s so-called «European wallets» have unfortunately started to use the judicial system of the Republic of Cyprus to whitewash their assets. Many law firms in Cyprus turn a blind eye to the sources of these people’s wealth. The regime’s accomplices skilfully take advantage of the peculiarities of the Cyprus money laundering legislation. Loktionov, realising that the UK and Swiss judicial systems are very transparent and incorruptible, is trying to whitewash his assets through the Cypriot judicial system by hiring MYROFORA A. PASTOU LLC to represent him. PASTOU LLC to represent his interests in the Cypriot court system. He hopes that this will go unnoticed by the UK and Swiss authorities.
We will tell you how the process of whitewashing assets, in this case Loktionov’s, takes place in our next article, which will be published soon.