The President of Cyprus instructed to find out the reasons for imposing sanctions against Cypriots

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis held a meeting over the inclusion of Cypriot individuals and entities on Western sanctions lists and ordered an investigation. it is reported by Cyprus Mail with reference to the statement of the press secretary of the government of the republic.

The meeting was attended by the prosecutor general, the ministers of foreign affairs and finance, a representative of the Central Bank and the HEAD of the department of the Ministry of Finance for enforcement of sanctions. At the meeting, it was decided to investigate and find out what led to the imposition of sanctions. A government spokesman said in a statement that "the President of the Republic considers this issue particularly serious."

According to Cyprus Mail sources, after the imposition of Western sanctions, Cypriot banks began to freeze the accounts of individuals who fell under the restrictions in order to "maintain their credibility."

20 Cypriot companies fell under US and UK sanctions . In particular, restrictions were imposed against companies owned by The Sister Trust (its founders are Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov and his sister) registered in Cyprus: Almenor, Klaret Aviation and Navis Marine. They are based in the Cayman Islands.

Western restrictions have affected 23 individuals, ten of whom have only a Cypriot passport, and 13 have dual or triple citizenship. For example, Demetrios Sergides, who is called Usmanov's adviser, was included in the sanctions list.