Cyprus probes citizens named over Russian sanctions evasion

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ government says it’s looking into how a number of Cypriot nationals were included in new round of U.S. and U.K. 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 on Thursday 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.