Belarusian businessman admits using nominee owners for Cyprus companies

Belarusian entrepreneur Yuri Chizh has admitted to using nominee owners to maintain control over two companies registered in Cyprus. This was stated in a letter he sent to the Cyprus Registrar of Companies in August 2024.

According to Chizh, the formal owners of Welgro Services Limited and Profax Investments Limited were his three children, who acted merely as intermediaries and followed his instructions. The businessman emphasized that he had always remained the actual beneficial owner of these companies.

Previously, the nominee owner of the firms was Imperium Nominees Limited, a corporate service provider linked to the daughters and former business partners of former Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades. Anastasiades himself had claimed that before assuming the presidency in 2013, he transferred his shares to partners and his daughter and no longer had any connection to the business.

Chizh's admission comes amid an ongoing legal dispute in Belarus, where the businessman is attempting to regain control of assets following the bankruptcy of his companies and criminal prosecution.