The Guardian newspaper made a mistake in its revealing article about Cyprus and its relations with Russian oligarchs.
In the original publication, there was a flag of the pseudo-state of Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, which was then replaced with the flag of the Republic of Cyprus. In fact, the replacement of the image is mentioned at the end of the article.
According to The Guardian’s report, Russian oligarchs moved multi-billion assets through Cyprus in the first period after the invasion of Ukraine. The investigation cites over 3.6 million files of leaked financial data obtained online by “Cyprus Confidential” through an anonymous source at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and Germany’s Paper Trail Media.
According to the leaked files, Cyprus is the main gateway to Europe for Russian oligarchs linked to Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. The British publication points out that among the 104 Russian billionaires identified by Forbes magazine in 2023, two-thirds appear along with their family members as clients of the island’s professional service providers.
The files also implicate Roman Abramovich. Tens of millions during his time as owner of Chelsea were allegedly given in payments involving scouts and club executives in not-so-legal ways. He, in collaboration with the super agent Pini Zahavi, allegedly, through controversial deals, controlled the careers of 21 young footballers.
Source: Greek City Times
