Cyprus authorities include detained three folk, at the side of a police officer, as section of an investigation into an alleged prison group linked to money laundering, tax evasion, and extortion focused on firms such as foreign exchange firms.
Detentions and Alleged Prison Recount
In step with SigmaLive, citing the legitimate recordsdata company CNA as translated to English, the Nicosia District Court docket issued detention orders for 3 suspects following police operations in Limassol. Two folk, feeble 49 and 50, will stay in custody for seven days, whereas a Forty five-year-ragged police officer will be held for eight days.
Investigators educated the court the community can include ties to a particular person wished by Greek authorities in cases fascinating cigarette and gas smuggling.
You can presumably even savor: CySEC Pulls Certification Registers as Scammers Exploit Licensing Crucial ingredients
Police are examining claims that the network equipped “security” products and services to firms, at the side of foreign exchange firms. Authorities are additionally reviewing imaginable links between the community and recent prison acts, at the side of arson and taking pictures incidents, the publication reported.
The investigation makes a speciality of the police officer’s financial job between 2020 and 2026. After obtaining court orders, authorities identified financial institution transactions that hang now now not match his declared income. They additionally stumbled on luxurious vehicles with out a certain financing records.
Monetary Investigation and Seized Assets
The 2 other suspects face investigation for alleged participation in the same prison group and for money laundering. Authorities identified funds in financial institution accounts and four luxurious vehicles that seem inconsistent with their income. Around €200,000 in resources linked to the pair has been frozen.
For the duration of the Limassol operations, police seized property valued at over €420,000, at the side of five luxurious vehicles and other items from the suspects’ residences. The suspects did now now not object to their detention orders.
Final year there became mounting scrutiny on the foreign exchange sector in Cyprus, however no broadly reported police-model raids such as the organized crime operation focused on firms with alleged “security” schemes.
2025: Heavy Supervision, Allegations, however Not Raids
CySEC’s include 2025 evaluate shows it ran around 600 inspections on Cyprus Funding Companies, imposed roughly €2.3 million in fines that year, and suspended or withdrew four CIF licences. Several cases had been referred to police, the Attorney Fashioned and the AML unit. These had been supervisory and enforcement measures in preference to on-the-ground crackdowns fascinating arrests and asset seizures at foreign exchange locations of work.
In parallel, Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos publicly alleged links between some Cyprus-primarily based foreign exchange firms and Latin American drug cartels last year, claiming Cyprus risked turning into section of a money-laundering network.
CySEC answered that it became gathering recordsdata and cooperating with domestic and international authorities to evaluate whether or now now not an extra investigation became wished, and stressed out that it enforces EU rules and applies sanctions for breaches.
Interestingly, scammers include long past as a ways as hijacking public evaluate platforms savor TrustPilot and Google Industry to pose as CySEC officials, tricking investors into paying bogus “recovery” bills. It triggered the regulator to warn that it by no methodology contacts folk to ask money and to roll out social media monitoring tools that observe multi‑language posts in real time so it'll swiftly take hang of away untrue issue and clamp down on these impersonation schemes.
Cyprus authorities include detained three folk, at the side of a police officer, as section of an investigation into an alleged prison group linked to money laundering, tax evasion, and extortion focused on firms such as foreign exchange firms.
Detentions and Alleged Prison Recount
In step with SigmaLive, citing the legitimate recordsdata company CNA as translated to English, the Nicosia District Court docket issued detention orders for 3 suspects following police operations in Limassol. Two folk, feeble 49 and 50, will stay in custody for seven days, whereas a Forty five-year-ragged police officer will be held for eight days.
Investigators educated the court the community can include ties to a particular person wished by Greek authorities in cases fascinating cigarette and gas smuggling.
You can presumably even savor: CySEC Pulls Certification Registers as Scammers Exploit Licensing Crucial ingredients
Police are examining claims that the network equipped “security” products and services to firms, at the side of foreign exchange firms. Authorities are additionally reviewing imaginable links between the community and recent prison acts, at the side of arson and taking pictures incidents, the publication reported.
The investigation makes a speciality of the police officer’s financial job between 2020 and 2026. After obtaining court orders, authorities identified financial institution transactions that hang now now not match his declared income. They additionally stumbled on luxurious vehicles with out a certain financing records.
Monetary Investigation and Seized Assets
The 2 other suspects face investigation for alleged participation in the same prison group and for money laundering. Authorities identified funds in financial institution accounts and four luxurious vehicles that seem inconsistent with their income. Around €200,000 in resources linked to the pair has been frozen.
For the duration of the Limassol operations, police seized property valued at over €420,000, at the side of five luxurious vehicles and other items from the suspects’ residences. The suspects did now now not object to their detention orders.
Final year there became mounting scrutiny on the foreign exchange sector in Cyprus, however no broadly reported police-model raids such as the organized crime operation focused on firms with alleged “security” schemes.
2025: Heavy Supervision, Allegations, however Not Raids
CySEC’s include 2025 evaluate shows it ran around 600 inspections on Cyprus Funding Companies, imposed roughly €2.3 million in fines that year, and suspended or withdrew four CIF licences. Several cases had been referred to police, the Attorney Fashioned and the AML unit. These had been supervisory and enforcement measures in preference to on-the-ground crackdowns fascinating arrests and asset seizures at foreign exchange locations of work.
In parallel, Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos publicly alleged links between some Cyprus-primarily based foreign exchange firms and Latin American drug cartels last year, claiming Cyprus risked turning into section of a money-laundering network.
CySEC answered that it became gathering recordsdata and cooperating with domestic and international authorities to evaluate whether or now now not an extra investigation became wished, and stressed out that it enforces EU rules and applies sanctions for breaches.
Interestingly, scammers include long past as a ways as hijacking public evaluate platforms savor TrustPilot and Google Industry to pose as CySEC officials, tricking investors into paying bogus “recovery” bills. It triggered the regulator to warn that it by no methodology contacts folk to ask money and to roll out social media monitoring tools that observe multi‑language posts in real time so it'll swiftly take hang of away untrue issue and clamp down on these impersonation schemes.
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