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At least 11 fugitives wanted by Interpol have been pinned down in the northern part of Cyprus in the last 20 months, as this unrecognised piece of land increasingly becomes a safe haven for criminals looking to evade the law.<\/p>\n
The fugitives, including Australian underworld boss Mark Douglas Buddle, Russian drug lord Viktor Panyushin, Chinese criminal Yanxi Xia also known as Arman Kaya, and Italian mafioso Sebastiano Claudio Saia had purchased real estate after obtaining residence permits from the Turkish Cypriot administration and were leading lavish lives here. Some had also established businesses.All the arrested fugitives were extradited to Turkey. The northern part of Cyprus, not recognised by any state other than Turkey, has no extradition treaties in force and all the Interpol-related arrest and extraditions can only be made through Turkey.Lack of recognition means there is no oversight of international institutions and that international law and legal order do not apply. This, coupled with lack of adequate controls on who enters the country, on what the status of their visas or permits are once there, as well as on their activities has increasingly turned the north into a place where fugitives can easily hide.Not surprisingly, Moldovan authorities believe that fugitive oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, one of the most influential Moldovan politicians until 2019, is hiding in the north. Plahoutniuc, who is sanctioned by the USA and the EU, is wanted for embezzlement of state funds, fraud and bribery.The lack of international recognition \u201ccreates serious legal gaps in terms of crime and criminals\u201d, explains Dr Yonca Ozdemir of International Relations. \u201cMoreover, existing laws are inadequate, there are huge shortcomings in their implementation, and there is lack of supervision\u2026 Therefore, north Cyprus can easily be a safe shelter for those wanted by Interpol or involved in illegal dealings.\u201dAccording to the 2023 Global Organised Crime Index, in the northern part of Cyprus \u201cthere are a number of people wanted by Interpol\u201d and \u201cthese foreign criminal actors collaborate closely with domestic criminals.\u201d The index also shows that organised crime; human, sex and drug trafficking; money laundering; and gambling networks are largely operating there with impunity.The widespread bribery mechanism also supports the system, according to Ozdemir.A study on corruption in the northern part of Cyprus based on Transparency International\u2019s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) methodology published last year revealed that 40 per cent of the business executives interviewed resorted to bribery in the past year. Seventy-two per cent of the 350 interviewed said bribery and corruption was \u2018very common\u2019. Bribery was found to be most rampant among the \u2018prime minister\u2019 and \u2018ministers.\u2019<\/p>\n
The uncontrolled flow of individuals into the north has also proven to be a security threat. Shamil Kalaev, a member of the terrorist organisation Islamic State Isis was among the 11 people wanted by Interpol and apprehended in the north in the last 20 months.Last year, three separate Iranian terror attacks against Israelis and Jews in the Republic of Cyprus were foiled. In all three cases, the arrested suspects had come into the Republic of Cyprus from the north. In December, Israeli Prime Minister\u2019s Office made a statement with the Mossad intelligence agency and the National Security Council saying that Israel was \u201ctroubled\u201d by Iranian use of the northern part of Cyprus \u201cboth for terrorism objectives and as an operational and transit area\u201d.Although there are no exact figures, authorities estimate that the number of Iranians living in the north have reached 15 thousand. Over 40 thousand Iranians entered the north through air and seaports in 2023 according to official statistics.Chief Justice Narin Ferdi \u015eefik in her speech at the opening of the 2023-2024 judicial year underlined that there should be increased controls at entry into the country and called for \u201curgent measures\u201d.<\/p>\n
In addition to the fugitives wanted by Interpol, 21 other individuals including Iranian Arash Maheri were deported from the north in the last 20 months for reasons like \u2018threatening public law and order\u2019, \u2018spreading enmity among people and against the state\u2019 and \u2018conspiracy\u2019. Seventeen of them were Turkish nationals.Separately, and during the same period, 29 Nigerians were deported from the northern part of Cyprus. Many of them were members of violent cults such as Bucaneers and Black Axe, which are considered among the most far-reaching and dangerous organised crime groups in the world. A BBC investigation on Black Axe in 2021 for example, unearthed evidence of infiltration of politics, sexual attacks and killings across the world. All 29 had entered the north with student visas to attend university.The ease with which student visas are issued paired with inadequate legal framework and the general lack of controls have turned universities into a backdoor to enter the county. There currently are 23 universities here that host almost 110,000 students. Close to half of these students are from countries in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East and the Far East. According to estimates at least 30 per cent of the enrolled students are \u201cpassive\u201d, meaning they have entered the country on a student visa, but are not attending any classes.According to the US State Department\u2019s Trafficking in Persons Report in 2023, once in the north, these people, who have come in with student visas, end up being forced into prostitution, drug trafficking or other illegal dealings.Follow the
\nCyprus Mail on Google News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
– At least 11 fugitives wanted by Interpol have been located in Northern Cyprus in the last 20 months.
\n– These fugitives, including notable criminals from Australia, Russia, China, and Italy, had purchased real estate and obtained residence permits from the Turkish Cypriot administration.
\n– All arrested fugitives were extradited to Turkey, as Northern Cyprus, not recognized by any state other than Turkey, has no extradition treaties and relies on Turkey for Interpol-related arrests and extraditions.
\n– Northern Cyprus is described as a safe haven for criminals due to lack of international recognition, oversight, and adequate controls on entry and activities within the country.
\n– Moldovan authorities believe fugitive oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc is hiding in Northern Cyprus.
\n– The 2023 Global Organised Crime Index indicates that Northern Cyprus has a significant presence of individuals wanted by Interpol and is a hub for organized crime activities.
\n– A study based on Transparency International\u2019s methodology found widespread bribery in Northern Cyprus, with 40% of business executives admitting to engaging in bribery.
\n– The uncontrolled entry of individuals into Northern Cyprus poses a security threat, with instances of apprehended terrorists and foiled terror attacks highlighted.
\n– Authorities estimate that the number of Iranians living in Northern Cyprus has reached 15,000, with over 40,000 entering through air and seaports in 2023.
\n– In the last 20 months, 21 individuals were deported for reasons such as threatening public law and order, and 29 Nigerians, many affiliated with violent cults, were also deported.
\n– The issuance of student visas and the presence of 23 universities hosting around 110,000 students, many of whom are not attending classes, are identified as factors contributing to illegal activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1521,589,232,1340,2011,1234,328,186,486,1918,295,21,3,1257,379,1610,1487,1059,2110,266,250,187,2225,1419,381,299,419,582,2253,2121,69,1060,1874,631,1843,1775,301,1792,287,19,827,1513,1827,382,1846,1571,177,268,1001,380,173,38,18],"class_list":["post-4469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-1521","tag-africa","tag-arrest","tag-arrested","tag-arrests","tag-attacks","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-china","tag-conspiracy","tag-corruption","tag-crime","tag-cyprus","tag-deported","tag-eu","tag-evidence","tag-extradition","tag-fraud","tag-funds","tag-gambling","tag-google","tag-international","tag-international-recognition","tag-investigation","tag-isis","tag-israel","tag-italy","tag-justice","tag-keywords-1-fugitives-2-north-cyprus-3-interpol","tag-land","tag-middle-east","tag-money-laundering","tag-national-security","tag-north-cyprus","tag-northern-cyprus","tag-oversight","tag-politics","tag-prime-minister","tag-real-estate","tag-russia","tag-security","tag-sex","tag-statement","tag-terrorism","tag-threat","tag-transparency","tag-turkey","tag-turkish-cypriot","tag-universities","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-visa","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n