That at times some people are trying to hurt our country’s reputation is a fact, Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou said on Sunday referring to media reports implying a link between President Nicos Anastasiades, his law firm and the so-called Troika laundromat.
“It is not about statements and counter statements. Answers have been given,” he said.
Prodromou said “allegations on various websites have been investigated by authorities of various countries, including the US, without any result. It is frustrating, and everybody can think about why some people raise such an issue. There is nothing else to add, nor do I think Akel can say anything since it said it does not adopt these allegations”.
The claims were made in a report by the Organised Crime and Corruption Project (OCCRP) on Wednesday which implied a link between the president, his law firm and the Troika Landromat, a network of shell companies that operated from 2006 to 2013 moving billions of dollars and allowing its users to hide assets, evade taxes and launder money.
“The fact that at times some are trying to hurt our country’s reputation, this is a given. This was also the case when Akel was in government. Unfortunately, it’s still happening,” Prodromou said.
“We must put all safeguards against such attempts and make sure Cyprus is not included” among countries named as suspect on such sites, Prodromou concluded.
On Sunday, Disy issued a statement saying “the adoption of online publications that try to undermine the credibility of Cyprus and the President of the Republic without documentation does not help our country, where one of the most important sectors of our economy is the financial sector”.
On Saturday the president’s former law firm said it was ready to take legal action against the organisation that first published the allegations.
On Friday Akel said is was concerned by the reports which linked Cyprus with money laundering and implicated the president and his law firm with suspicious dealings.
Source Cyprusmail