[3] The leaks include confidential information from financial services companies, mostly with connections to Cyprus, showing strong links with high-up figures in the Kremlin, some of whom have been sanctioned.
[6][7] The investigation is based on 3.6 million leaked files from the mid-1990s to April 2022, and include confidential background checks, organizational charts, financial statements, bank account applications and emails.
[3][4][5] The leaks contain confidential information from financial services companies, mostly with connections to Cyprus, and show that country to have strong links with high-up figures in the Kremlin, some of whom have been sanctioned.
[6][7] The investigation found that Cyprus financial firms were working for more than 95 sanctioned individuals and 44 PEPs who were "linked to state-owned companies or organizations deemed to merit added scrutiny because of a heightened risk involving corruption or other illicit activity".
[4][13][14] The investigation also revealed how the spyware firm Intellexa exploited loopholes in Cyprus[15][16] and that US surveillance giant Verint Systems's network of operations includes subsidiaries in India.
[20][21] The investigation revealed that prominent accounting firms, such as PwC and Deloitte, played significant roles in facilitating financial maneuvers for Russian oligarchs.
[5][23][27] In December 2023, the United States announced it was sending two dozen experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to Cyprus to assist with 29 cases related to money laundering and Russian sanctions violations.