Belarusian tycoon says Cyprus firms linked to ex-president’s family held assets on his behalf |
A Belarusian businessman once closely associated with the regime of President Aleksandr Lukashenko has claimed that companies linked to the family of a former Cypriot president acted as nominal owners of his businesses while he was under European Union sanctions. The revelation emerged in a written statement by businessman Yury Chyzh, who said he relied on nominee shareholders to retain control over corporate assets registered in Cyprus.
The admission came in a notarized letter Chyzh sent in August 2024 to the Cyprus Registrar of Companies. The document surfaced as part of an ongoing legal dispute over ownership of assets tied to Chyzh’s business empire. Civil society organization Rabochy Ruch obtained the letter and shared it with the Belarusian Investigative Center, bringing the matter into public view.
According to Chyzh, two Cyprus-based firms – Welgro Services Limited and Profax Investments Limited – were effectively controlled by him despite being registered under the names of other individuals. He explained that nominee beneficiaries appeared on official documents to satisfy regulatory requirements, while the real control remained in his hands through trustees and intermediaries.
In the letter, Chyzh wrote that his three children eventually became the nominal beneficiaries of the companies. Starting in 2017, they were added one by one to the ownership records of the Cypriot firms. However, Chyzh stated that their role was purely symbolic and administrative.
“They have always performed only intermediary functions, acting on my behalf and under my instructions,” Chyzh wrote. “I have always been and remain the real beneficiary of Welgro Services Limited and Profax Investments Limited.”
Before his children were listed as beneficiaries, the companies were formally owned through Imperium Nominees Limited, a corporate services provider in Cyprus. Corporate filings indicate that Imperium Nominees is owned by the daughters and former business partners of Nicos Anastasiades, who served as the president of Cyprus from 2013 until 2023.
The timing of these arrangements has drawn particular attention because Chyzh was under European Union sanctions between 2012 and 2015. EU authorities imposed the sanctions after determining that he had financially supported the government of Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko, widely criticized by Western governments for corruption and authoritarian governance.
Nominee ownership structures are not........