The Police Headquarters is being called upon to dig into its own pockets to pay the police officers—specifically, the men of the Limassol Special Operations Unit— who for the past seven months have been tasked with protecting a 40-year-old Russian businessman, his family, and his businesses, which have been the target of a series of criminal acts.

According to information from Alpha Cyprus, the Force’s leadership today ordered the suspension of the static guard post and the escort detail for the businessman and his family. The reason? Unpaid invoices from the past four months owed to the Limassol Police Directorate, amounting to tens of thousands of euros.

A well-informed source told our station that as early as the first month of the Russian businessman’s outstanding payments, the Limassol Police Directorate informed Police Headquarters thatunpaid invoices for the provision of protection to the 40-year-old. However, Police Headquarters continued to implement the decision made in early 2026 regarding contracted, police protection for the Russian, his family, and his businesses.

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In fact, it appears that the Russian businessman was given a deadline until the beginning of this week to settle the invoices, which he failed to do. Based on a new risk assessment by the relevant committee and given that he has also hired private security guards, it was decided to issue instructions to suspend his security protection.

At the same time, the authorities decided to continue patrols both at the residence where he and his family live and at potential targets among the businesses he owns in Limassol.

The information regarding the termination of the Russian businessman’s contracted protection was also confirmed to Alpha by the President of the Police Branch of the ISOTITA Union, Nikos Loizidis, to Alpha. He explained that police officers will not lose their accrued benefits, as there is a prior court ruling that guarantees financial compensation for police officers’ security detail assignments. As he specifically noted, the authority responsible for any such assignment is the competent authority at the time, which in this case is the Cyprus Police.

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It should be noted that, in recent months, the 40-year-old had been the victim of a series of criminal acts: arson, shootings, and bomb attacks. After assessing the situation, it was decided to provide him with protection, and he subsequently suggested that members of the police force be hired for this purpose.

A few weeks ago, AlphaNews.Live revealed that his private security detail consists of well-armed Ukrainian soldiers.

*The main photo was generated using ChatGPT.