Elias Neocleous & Co LLC

Introduction Cyprus has steadily strengthened its tax framework in line with evolving international standards on transparency, substance, and anti-avoidance. Through a series of legislative and policy reforms, the country has signaled its clear commitment to responsible tax practices and global cooperation. An integral part of this evolution is the introduction and recent expansion of withholding tax (WHT) measures targeting payments to jurisdictions deemed high-risk from a tax perspective. These developments mark a continued shift toward reinforcing substance and tackling aggressive tax planning.

Elias Neocleous & Co LLC(ENC) was once again at the forefront of the 2025 CG Summit Cyprus, a notable gathering hosted by the Legal500, which saw the participation of legal professionals, industry experts, and key decision-makers from across the country. 

In a groundbreaking decision issued by the Cyprus Labour Disputes Court on 27/3/2025, application 260/2018, it was recognized for the first time that employees on indefinite contracts fall within the scope of European Directive 1999/70/EC and can invoke unfair discrimination concerning their pension benefits.

At Elias Neocleous & Co LLC, we are dedicated to recognising and advancing talent based on innovation, expertise, and leadership.

Cyprus is showing its commitment to global tax transparency with the implementation of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

Elias Neocleous & Co LLC is delighted to announce its recognition as Mediterranean Law Firm of the Year 2025 at the prestigious Citywealth International Financial Centre (IFC) Awards.

We are honored to announce that Elias Neocleous & Co LLC (ENC) has been recognized for the 6th consecutive year in the prestigious GRR100 list, as published in the 2024 edition of Global Restructuring Review (GRR).

Elias Neocleous & Co LLC is pleased to announce its achievement of ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification for Information Security Management.

Elias Neocleous & Co LLC proudly announces its outstanding achievement in the IFLR1000 2024 rankings.

We are excited to share that Elias Neocleous & Co LLC (ENC) has once again earned a Tier 1 Ranking in three distinguished categories,

The 2024 edition of the Chambers High Net Worth Guide has been published, and we are proud to announce that for the 6th consecutive year,

The recently redesigned European Long-Term Investment Funds framework (“ELTIF 2.0”), fully applicable since January 2024,

Xenia Kalogirou of Elias Neocleous & Co discusses the rise of the concept of Open Finance as incorporated in the Framework for Financial Data Access

In March 2024, the The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released risk-based guidance to support the implementation of Recommendation 25 on Beneficial Ownership and Transparency of Legal Arrangements.

An Overview In this era of globalisation, where corporate sustainability is a common concern, the European Council approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

Curious about how we can protect our financial system from illicit activities? The European Union has stepped up to the challenge with a robust and comprehensive anti-money laundering (AML) framework.

The capital markets team of Elias Neocleous & Co LLC has successfully assisted Premier Energy PLC in relation to the initial public offering (IPO) and listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Elias Neocleous & Co LLC (ENC) and W11 Ventures (www.w11.ventures) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a powerful partnership to deliver strategic,

We are incredibly proud to announce that for a 5th consecutive time, Elias Neocleous & Co LLC (ENC) has been included in the prestigious GRR100 list released by Global Restructuring Review (GRR) in its 2023 guide to the world’s leading law firms for cross-border restructuring and insolvency matters.

We are proud to announce that Elias Neocleous & Co LLC was the recipient of the prestigious IN Business Award 2022 in the category Business Innovation for its groundbreaking contributions to advancing industry standards.

The capital markets team of Elias Neocleous & Co LLC advised Allwyn Entertainment Financing (UK) plc in connection with its high yield issuance of EUR 1.3 billion comprising EUR665 million 7¼% senior secured notes due 2030 and USD700 million 7⅞% senior secured notes due 2029. The proceeds of the notes will be used by the said company to repay drawings under its revolving credit facility, to redeem existing notes, repurchase preferred shares issued by its parent company and for general corporate purposes. Allwyn is a leading multi-national lottery operator and operates lotteries across the EU such as OPAP in Greece and the UK National Lottery. The team of Elias Neocleous & Co LLC was lead by Elias Neocleous with the assistance of Michael Pelosi and Demetris Roti. For more information please contact Michael Pelosi or Demetris Roti May 3, 2023

We are extremely proud to announce that, following an audit by Bureau Veritas, our firm has added certification with ISO 45001:2018 to its list of accomplishments.

The shipping department of Elias Neocleous & Co LLC is proud to have assisted Royal Caribbean Group in registering the cruise ship, “Spectrum of the Seas”, under the Cyprus flag.

Yoloco is a leading social data technology company aiming to revolutionize advertising through improving a brand’s ability to select the most effective ‘social media’ influencer to market its products.  To do this it has developed a platform that will assist the client in understanding the target audience for its product and match it with the most suitable influencer on the YouTube and Instagram networks.  The platform makes use of ‘in house’ developed advanced algorithms, machine learning and artificial intelligence to extensively analyze data which is publicly available on social media networks.

Elias Neocleous & Co LLC in collaboration with Latham & Watkins represented J.P. Morgan, ING Bank, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs International, Morgan Stanley, Natixis and Poalim IBI (the “Initial Purchasers”) in connection with a US$450 million offering of Rule 144A/Reg S high yield senior secured notes issuance by Energean PLC, an international independent gas-focused oil & gas company focused on the exploration, development and production of gas and oil assets in the Mediterranean and listed on the London Stock Exchange as well as the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Proceeds will be used to repay and cancel commitments under Egyptian and Greek reserve-based lending facilities, including Greek subordinated debt, and for general corporate purposes. The senior secured notes are expected to be listed on The International Stock Exchange.

Having completed the review of the firm’s financial performance for 2020 the management of Elias Neocleous & Co LLC would like to thank all partners and staff for the hard work and dedication that they have shown throughout what has been a very difficult year. 

Elias Neocleous & Co LLC is pleased to have assisted Lupp + Partner PartG mbB in advising Norwegian based Mintra Holding AS on its strategic expansion and strengthening of its training capabilities through the cross-border acquisition of German based maritime digital learning and crew competence management specialists Safebridge GmbH and its Cyprus subsidiary Safebridge Limited.

ELIAS NEOCLEOUS & CO LLC ADVISES GREENMONT AIFLNP LTD ON ITS INVESTMENT IN NACE ENERGIA IN SPAINDuring Q2 of 2020, our Financial Services and Regulation, Corporate and Commercial as well as Energy teams assisted our valued client, Greenmont AIFLNP Ltd (“Greenmont”), a Cyprus-authorized alternative investment fund on the Cyprus law aspects of its private equity investment in Nace Energía (“NACE”).

As Cyprus moves forward with its plans to build a Liquefied Natural Gas terminal on the Island, Elias Neocleous & Co LLC is proud to have advised and assisted Abamba Limited, a consortium of global engineering firms EPCM Consultants SA (Pty) Ltd, Global Maritime Consultancy Limited and iX Engineers (Pty) Ltd, with the submission of their tender application to the Natural Gas Infrastructure Company (ETYFA) for the Engineer Supervision Contract for the project to develop the infrastructure to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) into the Republic of Cyprus. 

Elias Neocleous & Co LLC is proud to have advised CPI Property Group (“CPI”) on the Cypriot aspects of its recent acquisition of shares in Globalworth Real Estate Investments Limited (“GREIL”). CPI is a company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with a property portfolio of circa EUR 8 billion. The shares it successfully acquired had previously belonged to Mr. Ioannis Papalekas who held them via a Cyprus SPV. Mr. Papalekas is the founder of GREIL and was responsible for growing it into a successful business. GREIL is currently listed on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalization in excess of EURO 2 billion. Whilst, as a result of this transactions Mr Papelakis is now no longer a shareholder in GREIL, he remains as CEO and will continue to be actively involved in the business.

Elias Neocleous & Co’s Financial Services team assisted the Zarenkov family on Cyprus corporate and financial services law matters in their February 2019 disposal of a 25% shareholding interest in Etalon Group Plc to Sistema PJFC, a publicly-traded diversified holding company. Etalon Group Plc, one of Russia’s largest and longest established development and construction companies,  is a Cyprus public company having Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange since 2011. The relevant public announcements on this transaction are available in the website of the London Stock Exchange and of Etalon Group Plc.

New Cyprus law on data system security The Security of Networks and Information Systems Law, Number 17(I) of 2018, implements articles 8 and 9 of EU Directive 2016/1148 on measures to achieve a high common level of security of network and information systems throughout the EU. It designates the Commissioner for Electronic Communications and Postal Regulation (Commissioner), appointed under article 5 of the Regulation of Electronic Communications and Postal Services Law 112(I) of 2004, as the national competent authority for the purposes of article 8 of the directive, with responsibility for coordinating the implementation of the cyber-security strategy and monitoring the application of the directive at national level.

In 2011, in response to public concerns over large multinational companies exploiting differences in national tax rules, the European Commission published a proposal for a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) to unify tax rules throughout the EU. Individual countries would still be free to set their own tax rates, but anomalies between countries in terms of deductibility of expenses and recognition of income would be eliminated. The initial proposal met with considerable political resistance, particularly from the United Kingdom, and was not pursued. In October 2016, perhaps in anticipation of less resistance once Brexit was completed, the Commission issued a revised proposal to replace the earlier one. It aims to introduce a set of common rules for determining the tax base of companies with operations in several EU Member States and tax them in the country where their revenues are generated, and remove the anomaly of large companies paying what the public perceives as disproportionately low amounts of tax in countries where they have significant activities.