Cyprus probes citizens named over Russian sanctions evasion

Cyprus' government said Thursday it's looking into how a number of Cypriot nationals were included in a new round of US and UK sanctions targeting the financial networks of Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Roman Abramovich who are close allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides called an emergency meeting of top officials to investigate the involvement of three Cypriot nationals, three executives holding dual Cypriot-Russian citizenship, a Russian Cypriot-Israeli national and another resident of Cyprus who were among executives running Cypriot-registered trusts and other businesses involved in alleged sanctions-busting for Usmanov.

In a statement, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said a number of decisions were taken "for the exclusive purpose of protecting Cyprus' name as a reliable, financial and business...