Identification of 2,400 persons from Panama Papers
23/2/2017 9:34
The Tax Department has identified 2,400 individuals and legal entities mentioned in the Panama Papers, according to Deputy Tax Commissioner Sotiris Markides.
Around 700 letters have been sent to taxpayers asking for information with regard to their income and to file tax returns, Markides told the Parliamentary Committee on Institutions, on Wednesday.
The Tax Department, he said, is asking for information from 2005 onward.
According to Markides the majority of those persons are presented as directors and as shareholders of companies listed in the Panama papers, claiming that they are not the real owners, but authorized persons (accountants, lawyers) acting on behalf of others.
Cyprus Bar Association Chairman Doros Ioannides said that all the 72 legal offices mentioned in the Papers have been checked. He said that most of them complied with the recommendations, adding that four offices were referred to the Disciplinary Board of the Association, that will convene in March.
Eva Papakyriakou, head of the Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS), said that after securing a court order they have frozen the bank account of €15 million of a foreign national shown in a number of companies related to the Panama papers.
However she said that so far no suspicious transaction has been reported.
Papakyriakou said that the commercial banks have submitted to MOKAS reports concerning information about companies listed in the Papers and which are registered overseas and have opened accounts in Cyprus.
Any references to Cypriots, she explained, concern either nominees or companies that provide administrative and other services to foreign nationals.
Chairwoman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission Demetra Kalogirou said that the six on-the-spot checks have been carried out on the companies with the majority of clients listed in the documents. She said that they have prepared reports that will be considered by the Council of the Commission, adding that they have not found anything related to criminal offences.
Around 700 letters have been sent to taxpayers asking for information with regard to their income and to file tax returns, Markides told the Parliamentary Committee on Institutions, on Wednesday.
The Tax Department, he said, is asking for information from 2005 onward.
According to Markides the majority of those persons are presented as directors and as shareholders of companies listed in the Panama papers, claiming that they are not the real owners, but authorized persons (accountants, lawyers) acting on behalf of others.
Cyprus Bar Association Chairman Doros Ioannides said that all the 72 legal offices mentioned in the Papers have been checked. He said that most of them complied with the recommendations, adding that four offices were referred to the Disciplinary Board of the Association, that will convene in March.
Eva Papakyriakou, head of the Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS), said that after securing a court order they have frozen the bank account of €15 million of a foreign national shown in a number of companies related to the Panama papers.
However she said that so far no suspicious transaction has been reported.
Papakyriakou said that the commercial banks have submitted to MOKAS reports concerning information about companies listed in the Papers and which are registered overseas and have opened accounts in Cyprus.
Any references to Cypriots, she explained, concern either nominees or companies that provide administrative and other services to foreign nationals.
Chairwoman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission Demetra Kalogirou said that the six on-the-spot checks have been carried out on the companies with the majority of clients listed in the documents. She said that they have prepared reports that will be considered by the Council of the Commission, adding that they have not found anything related to criminal offences.
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