Cypriot authorities have obtained a court order freezing €3.175 million in property linked to a former Russian regional governor who secured a Cypriot passport apparently without setting foot on the island — and who is now wanted internationally on bribery charges.
Cyprus Police, acting through its Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS), applied to the Nicosia District Court for a charging order against two properties connected to businessman and former politician Mikhail Yurevich, 57, who is reportedly subject to an international arrest warrant. The court granted the order within the past 20 days.
The frozen assets comprise a luxury apartment in Mesa Geitonia (the “ONE” complex), valued at €2,620,000 and registered in Yurevich’s name, and an apartment in Germasogeia (“Park Residence”) valued at €555,000, which appears to belong to his father, Valerii Iurevich.
The court’s decision has been made public — something that happens only when the individual concerned cannot be located to be served with the order.
International dimensions
Mikhail Yurevich’s case attracted international attention not only because he was a prominent political figure and businessman in Russia, but because he had already faced corruption proceedings in his home country. Al Jazeera gave prominent coverage to his case in August 2020 as part of its Cyprus Papers investigation into the golden passport scheme.
As a politician, Yurevich held a seat in the Russian State Duma before serving as governor of the industrial Chelyabinsk Oblast region from 2010 to 2014. In May 2017, according to Al Jazeera, he was placed on Russia’s international wanted list, accused of accepting bribes from local ministers and businesses and of defaming regional officials. He was convicted of large-scale bribery in January 2020 and has since been sought globally. In May 2018 he was added to Ukraine’s national security sanctions list in connection with the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Investigators allege he received over three billion roubles — approximately €35 million — through intermediaries during his time as governor. After refusing to present himself for questioning and declining to cooperate with the investigation, he was declared internationally wanted. In the Southern Urals, Yurevich also controlled the Makfa agro-industrial group, one of Russia’s largest producers of pasta and flour. In 2024, Makfa was nationalised following a lawsuit by the Russian Federation’s Prosecutor General, which argued the company had corrupt origins because its beneficiary had engaged in business activities while holding public office and “for many years violated the prohibitions and restrictions provided for by anti-corruption legislation.”
A Cypriot from a distance
Yurevich was naturalised as a Cypriot citizen in 2016 — yet according to the findings of the investigative commission chaired by Myron Nikolatos, he did not appear to have travelled to Cyprus after 2001. In other words, he managed to secure the passport without ever coming to the island. In its report of June 7, 2021, the commission, which examined the most problematic cases under the Cyprus Investment Programme, recommended that his passport be revoked.
What the commission report said
The commission’s final report stated in its summary findings:
“In the case of Mikhail Yurevich (2016 naturalisation), according to the arrivals/departures register, the applicant does not appear to have come to Cyprus after 2001. Of the five M127 applications submitted by members of the Yurevich family, only that of his partner Kristina Yurevich appears to have been signed by her. The other applicants appear not to have been in Cyprus on the date of submission of their applications and/or the arrivals/departures records found in the file contain no evidence confirming that they were in Cyprus, with the result that the said declarations may possibly be false.”
Without a stamp
The commission further noted that “in addition to the above, it has been observed that in some cases, the M127 form, despite bearing a District Court stamp, was neither signed nor certified before the registrar (case of Jionglong Zhang), or had not been included in the file (case of Jiatong Li) — both being 2018 naturalisations.”
The Council of Ministers approved Yurevich’s naturalisation on September 28, 2016.
Revocation in 2024
Yurevich’s citizenship was revoked more than three years later. In November 2024, the Christodoulides government published a list of 77 investors whose citizenships it was moving to revoke. According to a list published on November 24, 2024 by Politis, seven members of the Yurevich family had received Cypriot passports. The Al Jazeera Cyprus Papers had also revealed that Yurevich funded his parents’ application for Cypriot citizenship in November 2017; according to Al Jazeera, both parents served as directors of his various companies. The Council of Ministers had decided on September 13, 2016 that parents of a naturalised Cypriot citizen were entitled to obtain citizenship in their own right.
Cyprus Police: case under investigation
Phileleftheros approached Cyprus Police for further information on the MOKAS charging order against Mikhail Yurevich and Valerii Iurevich, noting that the court order had been made public. Police confirmed that a case is under investigation and that there is nothing to announce at this stage. Sources indicate that the case being examined by investigators relates to the findings recorded in the Nikolatos commission report.
In September 2025, the Russian website chel.dk.ru, citing RIA Novosti, reported that Yurevich had been relisted on the wanted register. The report quoted the relevant entry directly: “Yurevich Mikhail Valerievich… Basis for search: wanted under article of the Criminal Code… Re-declared wanted, had previously been wanted.” The agency noted that the service had not disclosed the specific article under which he is being prosecuted, though the case had previously been linked to a multi-billion rouble bribery affair.