Title: FBI and Cyprus Police Bolster Cooperation to Combat Financial Crimes
Collaboration Announced to Enhance Cyprus’ Capabilities in Detecting and Prosecuting Financial Crimes
On Tuesday, the US Embassy in Cyprus and the ROC Justice system announced a significant collaboration to strengthen Cyprus’ capacities in identifying and prosecuting financial crimes 1. This joint initiative involves the following entities:
- United States Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)
- Cypriot law enforcement entities (Cyprus police, attorney general’s office, and finance intelligence unit (Mokas))
Memorandum of Understanding and US Expertise Sharing
In the coming days, the FBI and the Cyprus police will formalize their partnership with a memorandum of understanding. This cooperation will allow the following exchange of expertise and resources between the two entities 1:
- The United States will share its knowledge and experience with Cypriot counterparts, starting in 2024.
- Proactive detection, investigation, and prosecution of financial crimes with connections to Cyprus will be enabled.
- Expert prosecutorial assistance will be provided, representing a substantial US investment in Cypriot capacity.
Valued Cooperation and US Sanctions
US Ambassador to Cyprus, Julie Fisher, expressed her appreciation for this close collaboration between the two justice systems. Fisher emphasized the importance of Cypriot authorities’ cooperation in holding sanctions evaders accountable 2.
Just a day before the cooperation announcement, a Cyprus-based company, Tokentrust Holdings, was sanctioned by the US for its ties to Russia’s financial sector 3.
OFAC Sanctions and Tokentrust Holdings
According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Tokentrust Holdings was established on June 11, 2020, and is the majority shareholder of Atomaiz, a Moscow-based fintech company 3.
Tokentrust Holdings bears a Cypriot registration and was added to the OFAC list of designated entities on Monday.
Positive Development
This closer collaboration between the American and Cypriot justice systems is seen as a positive development by both parties, who anticipate significant progress from this partnership.
You might also like: Convert a given text into a markdown-formatted personal resume [1]: https://in-cyprus.com/us-embassy-cyprus-and-roc-justice-system-announce-significant-collaboration/ [2]: https://in-cyprus.com/cyprus-based-company-tokentrust-holdings-sanctioned-by-us-for-ties-to-russias-financial-sector/ [3]: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-enforcement/Pages/20221011.aspx