`Many blacklisted Yugoslavs are living in Cyprus’

By Charlie Charalambous

SEVERAL people whose names figure on the EU blacklist against some 300 odd Yugoslavs loyal to the Milosevic regime are resident in Cyprus, informed sources told the Cyprus Mail.

According to Cyprus Mailsources four or five names on the EU blacklist, which the government has said it will enforce, are members of offshore companies registered in Cyprus.

It is understood that among them are employees of offshore Yugoslav banking units on the island.

“As far as I know the list contains people working for offshore banks and other companies on the island. There are about four or five people mentioned,” the informed source told the Cyprus Maillast night.

A report on Antenna TV also backed what the Cyprus Mailhad learnt, running a story which said that Yugoslavs on the blacklist were living in Cyprus and worked for offshore units here.

However, Antenna said that the government was not prepared to deport these people if they were on the list.

“The EU’s policy on the list of names is unclear. There needs to be clarification on whether these people are to be deported if overseas or just not have their visas renewed,” said the informed source.

Cyprus has been at the centre of persistent allegations of money being laundered through its offshore banks from Yugoslavia, especially the personal wealth of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

These money laundering claims are still under investigation by the Central Bank. Four of the island’s 30 offshore banks are Yugoslav.

The government has come under heavy fire for aligning itself with punishing EU sanctions which local opposition parties believe are unnecessary and illegal.

With opposition parties having a majority in the House it is unlikely that the government will be able to push through legislation enabling it to enforce EU measures such as freezing individual assets.

The House has already denounced the EU oil embargo and called on the government to revoke its earlier decision to back it.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.