Nicos Anastasiades

Nicos Anastasiades served as President of Cyprus from 2013 to 2023. Following a two-year investigation prompted by the book Mafia State, Cyprus's Independent Authority Against Corruption identified reasonable suspicion of several corruption-related offences, including one felony count of abuse of power. The identified suspicions include: Abuse of power: Intervening in an active police investigation into Focus Maritime to press the then-attorney general to discontinue the case. Trading in influence: Allegedly receiving €250,000 in 2011 from Laiki Bank, disguised as introducer fees, to support his 2013 presidential campaign. Institutional interference and conflict of interest: Managing citizenship applications for clients of his law firm, including Russian businessmen Leonid Lebedev and Alexander Abramov, and using his position to influence ministerial decisions. Tax and financial irregularities: Allegations of tax evasion regarding undeclared commissions from banks and potential money laundering involving offshore shell companies. Intervention in a 2010 citizenship application for Alexander Abramov and a 2014 arrest case involving Elena Rybolovleva. Misdemeanour regarding the Dromolaxia Vakouf property, involving non-constitutional intervention in Land Registry positions. Investigations into whether companies linked to his family firm facilitated the evasion of EU sanctions on Belarus and managed assets for sanctioned individuals. These findings are based on a civil standard of proof and do not constitute criminal convictions. The reports have been submitted to the Attorney General for further assessment; Anastasiades has consistently denied all allegations of wrongdoing.