Cyprus police report significant rise in frozen assets linked to money laundering

The Cyprus Police have reported a sharp increase in the value of assets frozen due to suspected illegal transactions, totaling 51.5 million euros over the past several years. During a House Audit Committee hearing on November 12, 2026, police representatives detailed that asset freezes rose from 550,000 euros in 2023 across nine cases to 32 million euros in the first eight months of 2026 alone, involving 23 cases.

Auxentis Konstantinou, Director of the Financial Crime Investigation Subdivision, stated that naturalization cases account for approximately half of the total frozen value. Notable instances include the seizure of a three-million-euro mansion belonging to Malaysian businessman Jho Low, who was stripped of his Cypriot passport in June 2024. Authorities attributed the improved performance to better police training, the integration of financial investigations alongside criminal proceedings, and enhanced cooperation with MOKAS (Unit for Combating Money Laundering).

While the Audit Office previously identified operational inefficiencies in banking supervision, committee members observed a gradual improvement in anti-money laundering efforts since 2020. Officials confirmed that while the volume of frozen assets has increased significantly, these actions remain investigative measures rather than final court-ordered confiscations.