Cyprus was historically Russia's financial entrance into the European Union taking receipt of the majority of that business following Malta's introduction of stringent Anti-Money Laundering (AML). The main products offered were 10% companies and it had recently introduced a scheme for reducing the VAT on the import of pleasure yachts in the EU. In any case Cyprus' economy recently collapsed following that of Greece and talks are underway regarding bailout options which look likely to include the freezing of funds in Cyprus and a flat rate taxation on balances held there. The reasons for its collapse are well known and stem from a lack of diversification in their banking sector and huge overinvestment into Greece and the concerns surrounding Cyprus cannot be applied to other EU countries. The collapse of Cyprus is not connected to its longstanding association with Russian funds and questionable practices relating to Know Your Client (KYC) procedures which had long been an unrelated concern. Cyprus should currently be regarded as closed for business, please feel free to contact us regarding getting funds released from Cyprus or the movement of companies out of Cyprus.