Parliamentarians on Monday wrapped up discussion of bills proposing to create a national financial sanctions implementation unit, with the legislation now set to head out to the plenum for a vote.

Cyprus needs to enact the legislation, harmonising with relevant EU law. It has already missed the deadline, which was May 20.

Other than setting up a national sanctions unit – which will be a division within the finance ministry – the government bills also criminalise sanctions-busting and grant the unit the authority to slap fines on entities not disclosing the information requested.

Effectively the unit will supervise and coordinate all matters relating to the implementation of financial sanctions issued by the EU and the United Nations.

It will further issue directives, clarifications and guidance to all relevant departments and agencies.

And it will direct the tracking and freezing of financial assets that are subject to sanctions.

The legislation moreover makes it mandatory to share information with counterpart agencies overseas.

Speaking to the media after the session of the House finance committee, its chair Christiana Erotokritou (Diko) remarked that “today Cyprus is taking an important step forward”.

The financial sanctions unit would act as “the custodian of the reliability of Cyprus when it comes to international sanctions decided either by the United Nations or the EU,” she added.

“It is not merely a technocratic measure, but rather a substantive political choice. We are sending a loud message that in Cyprus we have rule of law, consistency and accountability.”

The more robust the legal framework, noted Erotokritou, the more attractive the country would become to “serious investors”.

Cyprus found itself in hot water for allegedly aiding Russian oligarchs evade sanctions in 2023, after both the United States and the UK sanctioned dozens of Cypriot entities and individuals for being financial enablers.

In November 2023 the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project published ‘Cyprus Confidential’, a slew of reports claiming that while the West was trying to block funding for Russia’s war against Ukraine, financial fixers in Cyprus — including accounting powerhouse PwC — scrambled to help oligarchs evade the sanctions.