We are excited to be co-hosting the webinar Preferred Structures for Startups and Tech Companies: Cyprus and US Perspective on 22 March 2023!

In the wake of the collapse of FTX, which was ranked as the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange just days before declaring bankruptcy[1], this is a concise attempt to comprehend what caused the downfall of the cryptocurrency giant in layman’s terms and appreciate the lack of regulatory oversight, auditing and corporate governance failures exposed from this saga.

On the 4th June 2018 the Republic of Cyprus along with 21 other Member States and Norway agreed to sign a Declaration creating a European Blockchain Partnership for the specific purpose of establishing a European Blockchain Services Infrastructure. The ambition and underlying purpose of this European Blockchain Partnership, was to support the delivery of cross-border digital public services, enhance the security and privacy of this sector and (although not expressly stated) to prevent any potential calamities in the financial-blockchain sector.

Following the recent unfortunate events, new sanctions and restrictive measures have been imposed against a number of Russian financial institutions, entities and individuals. This is a fast-changing and irregular situation, and the regulations imposing restrictive measures are continuously revised and updated. Regulators in Cyprus have issued announcements and circulars to Regulated Entities in relation to their obligations to abide by the applicable restrictive measures and implement and maintain a sanctions policy.

Our “highly qualified, clear and practical” legal team is once more highly ranked in Chambers & Partners Europe, one of the world’s leading providers of ratings and recommendation of legal firms.

Given the constantly changing global corporate environment, shifting business needs and closer scrutiny in an effort to prevent and suppress money laundering and profit shifting, as well as the requirement for enhanced substance, companies are being called to re-evaluate and challenge their existing structures.

The new Enforcement of Judgments guide features 29 jurisdictions. The guide provides the latest legal information on the identification of another party’s asset position, the costs and time involved in the enforcement of domestic and foreign judgments, challenges to enforcement, and the process of enforcing arbitral awards.

The new edition of ICLG’s Alternative Investment Funds 2021 covers regulatory frameworks, fund structures, investments, reforms and taxation. Angeliki Epaminonda and Angelos Onisiforou contribute the Cyprus Chapter.

We are proud to be the first Cyprus law firm to support the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations, which is dedicated to the implementation of the Green Protocols in each region of the world, with particular attention to regional specificities! The Campaign seeks to raise awareness of the significant carbon footprint of the arbitration community.

The Legal 500’s Hall of Fame recognizes our Senior and Managing Partner, Stavros Pavlou, as “one of the 2-3 best and most bright Cypriot litigators” and “a true master of strategic thinking” in the Dispute Resolution area. He is recommended “without any reservation” for being “a prominent arbitrator locally and internationally” and for finding a way to cut through complexity. He is further a leading individual in Tax and an expert international tax advisor and trust practitioner, while he is also highly recommended as an expert in Corporate, Commercial and M&A, Banking and Finance and Real Estate & Construction.

The Legal 500, EMEA 2021 edition once again recommends our law firm as a TOP TIER firm in Dispute Resolution and Tax and ranks our Banking & Finance, Commercial, Corporate and M&A, and Real Estate and Construction practice areas amongst the best in the Cyprus legal market.

Olga Turbin, AML officer, has successfully completed Cysec’s Anti-Money Laundering Specialist certificate. She now has the core competencies and essential knowledge in the Anti-Money Laundering field.

We are extremely proud of our trainee lawyer Nicholas Yiasemis for having successfully passed all his Cyprus Bar Association examinations with a very high score.

Our “widely respected team” is once more highly ranked in the Global edition by Chambers & Partners, one of the world’s leading providers of ratings and recommendation of legal firms.

Chambers & Partners’ International Arbitration 2020 practice guide features 47 jurisdictions. Stavros Pavlou, Eleana Christofi, Theodoros Symeonides, and Athina Patsalidou provide expert legal commentary on tribunals, preliminary and interim relief, collection and submission of evidence, confidentiality, types of remedies, class actions, and grounds for appeal and enforcement in Cyprus.

The Covid-19 crisis is first and foremost a humanitarian crisis and one that raises fears for the health of ourselves, our loved ones, our families, our co-workers and friends. The cohesion of society itself is at risk and the survival of vulnerable people and businesses threatened. Institutions such as the health services, governmental authorities, banks, even organised religion are all tested and many are found seriously wanting.

In November 2017, the Cyprus parliament voted an important amendment to the Cyprus VAT Legislation, which amends the main VAT Law N.95(I)/2000 concerning taxation of building land, in order to align it with the provisions of EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC. The amendment has entered into force on 2 January 2018.

In November 2017, the Cyprus parliament voted a significant amendment to the Cyprus VAT Legislation (VAT Law – Amending Law No. 3) which amends the main VAT Law N.95(I)/2000 concerning taxation of building land, in order to align it with the provisions of EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC. The amendment was published in the Official Gazette on 13 November 2017 and will come into force on 2 January 2018.

The Cyprus Tax Department (CTD) has notified the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) of their policy change in terminating the application of the pre-agreed minimum profit margins of 0.125% – 0.35% on qualifying intra-group back to back financing arrangements, with effect from 1 July 2017.

Legal 500, the world’s legal guide to the leading law firms and outstanding lawyers in over 100 jurisdictions, has recently released tiered rankings for the EMEA region for 2017.

The Cyprus Minister of Finance issued a Decree on 30 December 2016, introducing a mandatory Country by Country (CBC) reporting requirement for multinational enterprise groups generating consolidated annual turnover exceeding €750m (MNE Group). The Decree is compliant with the EU Directive 2016/881 amending Directive 2011/16 relating to mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation and the OECD BEPS Action 13 on transfer pricing documentation and country by country reporting.

The Republic of Cyprus signed an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation (‘DTT’) with Jersey, during a ceremony at London’s Cyprus High Commission on 11 July 2016.

The Republic of Cyprus and the Government of the Republic of Latvia signed in Brussels, on 24 May 2016, a Treaty for the Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income (‘DTT’).

“Cyprus Needs a Compromise and Common Efforts” says Stavros Pavlou, Senior & Managing Partner of Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC in an interview as published in the April-June 2016 issue of the Cyprus-Russian Successful Business Magazine.