Story perspectives

Cyprus sends ex-president’s citizenship scandal to AG

6/17/2026

Summary

Cyprus Refers Abuse

Cyprus will refer possible abuse of power by former President Nicos Anastasiades and his firm to the Attorney General after allegations in *Mafia State*.
Investigators examined 2009-2011 citizenship files of Russian businessmen Leonid Lebedev and Alexander Abramov, noting a comment that “the issue of the wife to be resolved.”
Eighteen days after the wife’s rejection, the Cabinet amended the investor-dependent policy, allowing a renewed submission approved in July 2011.

Summary

Anastasiades Offshore Scandal

€500,000 earmarked for DISY in 2014, only €50,000 declared, the rest funneled via a firm to a Cypriot shell and €100,000 diverted.
Inspectors found former President Nicos Anastasiades took undeclared “introducer fees” from Laiki Bank and a €250,000 payment hidden through invoices and a British Virgin Islands (BVI) entity.
Pandora Papers show firm Nicos Chr. Anastasiades & Partners arranged offshore structures, including Russian investor Leonid Lebedev’s naturalisation, implying concealed ownership.

Summary

**McIntyre Leads Probe**

The Independent Authority Against Corruption appointed a team led by Gabrielle McIntyre with three Cypriot lawyers.
The investigation recorded testimony from roughly 150 witnesses in over 200 sessions and produced a near-3,000-page report.
The Authority applied the civil “balance of probabilities” standard, not the criminal “beyond reasonable doubt” threshold.
The report, not made public and sent to the Attorney General, cites alleged misconduct by judicial and police officials.

Summary

Anastasiades Denies

Former aide Makarios Drousiotis, now journalist, sparked the probe with his book “Mafia State” alleging a power-business nexus.
President Nicos Anastasiades issued a self-published rebuttal titled “The Sycophant,” denying the accusations.
The citizenship-for-investment programme that granted thousands of passports was halted in 2020 after exposés.
The two-year inquiry is framed as a test of Cyprus’ willingness to examine alleged high-level misconduct, while Anastasiades keeps asserting innocence.

History

Historical Context

Cyprus joined the EU on 1 May 2004, extending the acquis to the whole island while the north remained excluded. EU officials then demanded tighter oversight of the citizenship-by-investment programme, recalling the 1994 Corfu Council that had confirmed Cyprus’s EU path. In 2004 the EU also pledged €259 million for Turkish-Cypriot infrastructure, underscoring the stakes behind the current probe of 2009-2011 passport files.

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Cyprus Refers Abuse

Cyprus will refer possible abuse of power by former President Nicos Anastasiades and his firm to the Attorney General after allegations in *Mafia State*.
Investigators examined 2009-2011 citizenship files of Russian businessmen Leonid Lebedev and Alexander Abramov, noting a comment that “the issue of the wife to be resolved.”
Eighteen days after the wife’s rejection, the Cabinet amended the investor-dependent policy, allowing a renewed submission approved in July 2011.

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