“If you want that deals are not disputed, you should disclose information about the beneficiaries. It often happens that some Cyprus-registered company buys a whole industry, and it is unclear for whom,” Mr. Yuzhanov stressed.

According to him, the Antimonopoly Ministry will OK only those deals where real owners will be named. Proposals on the improvement of antimonopoly laws would be presented to the government before March 1, Mr. Yuzhanov said. Amendments to the law on the protection of competition will be submitted to the government before December 1.

Meanwhile, information about the ownership of Cyprus-based companies is not a secret any more. This statement was made by Igor Kostikov, Chairman of the Federal Commission for the Securities Market, back in March 2003. He said the Central Bank of Cyprus provided information about the beneficial owners of Russian companies registered in Cyprus, to the Federal Commission for the Securities Market. At that time, the announcement shocked Russian businessmen.