STEP Cyprus Conference and Gala Dinner

Paolo is a Scottish solicitor, a licensed legal advisor (“conseil juridique”) in Monaco, a Romanian “avocat”, and a Registered European Lawyer in Cyprus. He was also an “avocat à la Cour” in Luxembourg until 2022. He is a director of Private Trustees SA, a Luxembourg trust company, and a director of Teton Trust Company LLC, a licensed trust company in Wyoming (USA). Paolo is an academic supervisor of the Certificate in International Family Wealth at the International University of Monaco and teaches courses at the Master in Wealth Management of the University of Luxembourg and at the LLM of the University of Liechtenstein. His publications include International Trust Laws (2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2017) and (as editor) Beneficial Ownership Registers. The STEP Handbook for Advisors (Globe Law and Business, 2021) and Trust Laws in Cyprus: an international perspective (Globe Law and Business, 2022). He is a member of the worldwide Board of Directors and Chairman of the “Europe” Region of STEP, Deputy Chairman of the International Tax Planning Association (ITPA), a member of the executive committee of the “Associazione Il Trust in Italia”, and an academic of The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law (TIAETL).

Stella Kammitsi is a qualified lawyer and member of the Cyprus Bar Association since 1992. She runs her own law firm and her fiduciary service provider company, Raza Corporate Services Ltd. Her main areas of expertise are Corporate, Banking, Trust and Estate Succession Planning and Commercial Law. She obtained her law degree from the University of Leicester, UK and her LLM in International Banking Law from Boston University, USA. She is member to the boards of various companies and associations including, inter alia, Chairwoman of STEP Cyprus and one of the Deputy Chairperson of the STEP Europe Region, Vice-President to BPW Cyprus, Chairperson of the Standing committee for Legislation of BPW International.

Nicky obtained her LLB and LLM (EU law) from the University of Leicester. Nicky is a certified Trusts & Estates Practitioner and Vice – President of the Board of Directors of STEP Cyprus (Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners), a certified AML Compliance Officer from the Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission and licenced Insolvency Practitioner. She is an active member of two committees of the Cyprus Bar Association, the Companies Committee and Intellectual Property Committee. She is the Founder/Managing Partner of the law firm N. Xenofontos LLC, established in 2019, a boutique, business centric law firm, specialising in corporate, commercial law, intellectual property, insolvency and restructuring, trusts and estates, compliance, regulatory, privacy law and professional fiduciary appointments. Apart from the above, Nicky is a legal trainer-lecturer on her areas of expertise and regularly holds seminars through the firm’s legal training centre - NextStep Legal Training Centre accredited by the Cyprus Bar Association for Continuous Professional Development and also provides in-house training to law firms, accounting and audit firms. In November 2022, Nicky was appointed by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus to serve as a non-executive member of the Board of Directors of the semi-governmental owned House Financing Corporation.

Sergei Alimirzoev is Senior Partner and founder of the “Alimirzoev and Trofimov” Law Firm (since 1999). Graduate of the Faculty of Law of Lomonosov Moscow State University, L.L.M. Sergey Alimirzoev specializes in representing the interests of Russian and international clients in international corporate and commercial transactions, securities transactions, is a recognized expert on tax issues, oversees the practice of supporting family offices and private clients. Sergey Alimirzoev's legal practice experience exceeds 30 years. Recommended by the Chambers & Partners Europe, The Legal-500, Who’s Who Legal international ratings as a leading lawyer in the field of consulting private clients.

Katya Vagner advises wealthy UK and international families, family offices and charities in all aspects of UK and offshore tax, succession planning, and trusts. She helps her clients navigate the complexities of cross-border estate and trust planning, probate, and philanthropy matters. Katya’s global outlook and extensive travel experience as a professional ballroom dancer and living in the US and Canada has enabled her to establish meaningful relationships with clients and professionals. She is passionate about ESG initiatives and strive to make a positive impact.

Evi obtained her Bachelor degree, after receiving her Letters of Law (LLB) with Honors from Kings College, University of London and continued her studies with the same university and obtained a Master of Letters of Law (LLM) in European Union Law and Taxation with merit Evi has furthered her education in Zurich having completed the International Post Graduate Tax Law Program. Evi is an accredited Arbitrator  with the Charter Institute of Arbitration of London and Mediator and a certified Documentary Credit Specialist from the Chartered Institute of Financial Services from the School of Finance and the International Financial Services Association, endorsed by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) she further Certified in International Trade and Finance from IFS School of Finance, United Kingdom. She was admitted to the Cyprus Bar Association  as a Advocate in Cyprus and has served in various committees of the Cyprus Bar Association ever since she jointed. Evi is a practicing litigation advocate and she has litigated in all the benches of the Courts and the Supreme Court of Cyprus. Evi is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, who currently serves as the secretary of STEP Cyprus. She is a full Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a qualified Mediator in Cyprus. Evi is a Member of the Association of International Arbitrators in the United Kingdom with experience in international arbitration and mediation, Member of the International Association of Risk and Compliance Professionals, Member of the Institute of Directors for directorship, management and leadership for public and listed companies, Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Tax Advisors of the United Kingdom, Member of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics of the United States, Member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives of the United Kingdom. Evi practises law via Law Chambers Nicos Papacleovoulou LLC a law firm established and working in Cyprus for almost half a century now, in an array of fields of law with Trusts, Company Law, Commercial Law Conveyancing and Property transactions Administration of Probates and Wills. From 2019 Law Chambers Nicos Papacleovoulou LLC has been the opted member in Cyprus of Alliott International Tax, Accounting and Legal Firms in Cyprus. Evi lectures since 2018 as an Academic Scientific Member of teaching of Staff to Universities with subject Company and Commercial Law and sub subject Anti-Money Laundering, Trusts, Estate and Administration Contract law and Business transactions.

Judith Taic, Dr. Jur., LLM Taxation (NYU), TEP, heads her own boutique law office in Tel Aviv, focusing on taxation matters in Germany, the U.S. and Israel. She advises high net worth individuals in wealth planning, philanthropy and in various taxation matters with respect to trusts, foundations, Establishments and other vehicles. She earned her doctorate in the field of international taxation from the Ludwig Maximilian-University of Munich, where she published her book on transfer pricing of intangible assets. She received her LLM in taxation from New York University. She is a qualified and licensed attorney in Germany, New York and Israel.

Jonathan Riley advises wealthy individuals, families and the institutions that advise them in respect of structuring private wealth and related tax affairs. He has particular expertise in advising trustees, business owning families and entrepreneurs with international interests. Frequently, Jonathan helps trustees to balance their various duties (on the other hand) with the wishes of settlors and beneficiaries (on the other hand) – this can be a delicate balance, particularly against the background of generational change and when the trust property comprises business interests.

Tomasz works with law and taxes within the framework of the practice consulting individual clients. He consults on Polish and international tax law, property protection, succession planning and inheritance. He has experience in coordinating structures and transactions extending to multiple jurisdictions and in legal and tax advice with reference to personal and business financial standing.

Simon Gorbutt is Chair of STEP Benelux and Director at Lombard International Assurance, where he heads a Wealth Planning team unique in the cross-border insurance space providing services on a global basis as part of the company’s Wealth Structuring Solutions capability. He is based in Luxembourg where he has more than 16 years’ experience specialising in cross-border wealth planning for high net worth individuals. Simon is a solicitor, qualified in England and Wales, he speaks on private wealth, succession and insurance-based wealth solutions, and he teaches on the Masters in Wealth Management at the University of Luxembourg. Simon also sits on the Board of the Luxembourg Association of Family Offices - the voice of private wealth in Luxembourg.

Panicos Loizou was born in Cyprus and educated at the University of Salford, in Manchester, where he was awarded the University prize in Economics. He trained with a big four accounting firm in Manchester and in 1980 he was admitted to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. In 1981 he qualified and was admitted to the Institute of Taxation of the UK, as a Chartered Tax Advisor. In 1984 he was admitted to Partnership with a big four accounting firm in Cyprus, where he served for 37 years. In 1991, he attended a Cash Management Course, at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. He has been a member of STEP for many years. He has served on the Council of STEP for 3 years.

Petros Fatouros studied in Greece, the UK and the USA. He heads the Private Clients section of the law firm, originally established by his grandfather Petros Tsoutis in 1930, as well as the Multi-Family Office of the same organization which provides exceptional and extraordinary service to a limited number of families. Petros's expertise is on strategic tax planning, establishments and reorganizations of Trusts and Foundations as well as efficient reorganization of challenging families-related portfolios.

Angeliki Miliakou has been a member of the Athens Bar Association since 2011 and member of KG Law Firm since 2021. Her practice focuses on succession and family wealth planning, and all aspects of Greek taxation relating to HNWI, such as income, inheritance/gift taxation, shipping taxation, philanthropy and matters relating to the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI). Angeliki also handles corporate restructurings for the purposes business and tax efficiency, asset protection and efficient corporate governance. She is a lecturer at KEK – OPA (Athens School of Economics) on AEoI since 2019. She graduated from Athens Law School and holds an LL.M. degree on Public and European Constitutional Law from Humboldt University (Berlin), whereas she has completed the Post-Graduate program on Greek Tax Law held by KEK OPA.

Emily studied Jurisprudence at Trinity College, University of Oxford from which she obtained a BA in 1997 and MA in 2000. She also obtained her LLM “Legal Studies in Comparative European Law” from the European University Institute in Florence She was a stagiaire at the European Commission in 1998 and a Robert Schuman scholar in the Legal Service of the European Parliament in Luxembourg, in the Department of Internal Regulations in 2000. Emily was a founding partner of Aristodemou Loizides Yiolitis LLC in 2006 which then merged with Harneys LLC in 2010. She left her law practice when she was appointed to the position of Minister of Justice and Public Order in June 2020, a post she served for a year until her resignation in June 2021. Today, she heads Anemi Trustees Limited as CEO and has founded a new law firm, Emily Yiolitis LLC. Emily has repeatedly been included in the Citywealth IFC Power Women Top 100 list which “recognizes women with achievements that shape public opinion, contribute to the promotion of business excellence in their jurisdiction and consolidate the reputation of the financial services sector”. Emily Yiolitis' main areas of activity are corporate, trust and tax law. Emily Yiolitis is a Member of the Cyprus Bar Association since 1998. She has served on the Board as Chairwoman for the Cyprus Electricity Authority (AHK), on the Board of the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CYTA), as a founding Committee Member of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP Cyprus), a founding member for AIPFE Cyprus and a board member of the INBLF International Legal Network. Emily is a regular speaker at international tax conferences and her work is frequently published in Cyprus and international tax periodicals. She currently serves on the board of Hope for Children and the Red Cross, Cyprus.

Andreas Kazamias is a results-oriented senior executive with extensive international and local experience in payments, strategy formulation and implementation, P&L management, and performance management frameworks. In recent years he has also been actively engaged in the provision of consulting services relating to crypto and digital assets. He had worked for companies like First Data Corporation, ACI Worldwide, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, St.George Bank (Australia), in the FX industry, and elsewhere in New Zealand, Asia Pacific, Europe, UK and South America.

Irénée Dondjio is a Senior Professor of Business Administration and Emerging Technologies at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, as well as a Lecturer in Blockchain and Entrepreneurship at Cyprus's Nicosia University (Master Program). He lectured and gave guest lectures at major institutions across Australia, Asia, Europe, and Africa, including UTS (Sydney), Hanyang University (Korea), Brawijaya University (Indonesia), Kadir Has University (Istanbul), and Mahidol University (Thailand). In addition, Irénée frequently provides companies with mini-guest lectures on cutting-edge technology and business strategy. His publications include Mathematics for Finance, Business, and Economics and Managing Your Business.

Rocco Impecora graduated in Law at the University of Milan (Italy). After working as M&A and Finance law expert at Shearman & Sterling, he started working for STORM Partners, a Swiss company providing services related to digital assets and blockchain technology in the areas of Finance & Fundraising, Legal & Compliance, Digital Transformation, and Marketing. Rocco has a deep understanding of the crypto world and the regulations and laws that govern it.

Caroline Bennett-Akkaya is a partner at 1291 Group Geneva, focused on wealth planning using life insurance solutions. TEP qualified, she has been in the trust industry since 2000 between London and Geneva. In 2020 Caroline joined 1291 Group to help establish the Geneva presence. They work with UHMW families and their advisors/trustees to advise on life insurance solutions for their long-term succession plans.

Pantelis Christofides, a registered and practicing Advocate in the Republic of Cyprus, a Director of L. PAPAPHILIPPOU & CO LLC Advocates and Legal Consultants based in Nicosia, and the Head of the European Union and Regulatory Law practice group as well as a Member of Corporate & Commercial practice group of L. PAPAPHILIPPOU & CO LLC. His knowledge covers, inter alia, matters of EU law, protection of competition law, concentration control law, commercialisation law, international private and public law, human rights law, privacy and data protection law. He has extensive experience advising domestic and international clients, including NYSE and NASDAQ listed companies. Pantelis has represented clients before the competent authorities of the Republic of Cyprus, including District Courts, the Supreme Court of Cyprus, the Commission for the Protection of Competition of the Republic of Cyprus (CPC), handling notifications of concentrations in relation to both domestic and international clients, including NYSE listed companies, as well as being a defence team member in relation to alleged concerted practice proceedings, and the Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, assisting in the preparation and filing of notifications before the Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection and acting in relation to complaint proceedings before the said Office. He has advised on numerous occasions on matters of Inter-State Criminal Law such as the application of the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant, White Collar Crime, Anti – Corruption, Anti – Money Laundering and Sanctions related legislative provisions as well as represented clients before the competent Authorities of the Republic of Cyprus. Pantelis has also advised on matters of application of Regulation (EU) 2019/452 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union, as well as Regulation (EU) 2019/452 and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Dr Johanna Niegel, TEP, joined Allgemeines Treuunternehmen (ATU), one of the oldest trust and advisory companies in Liechtenstein, at its Vaduz headquarters after having worked with international law firms, among others in Vienna, Budapest and New York. Johanna is a full member of STEP and active in various STEP committees. She was awarded the STEP Founder’s Award in 2017. Being an international journal editor, Johanna furthermore has a publishing background, and also teaches in various programmes at the University of Liechtenstein.

Dr. István Sándor is professor of law at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. He is also a practising lawyer and he also graduated as a political scientist. He is doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (DSc) and chair of STEP Hungary. He is a listed arbitrator of the Permanent Arbitration Court attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He visited several universities as research fellow or visiting lecturer and he was speaker in numerous international conferences. He is specialised in trust law, commercial law and company law. He published several books and articles in trust law, company law, legal history and civil law.

Filippo is a partner of Mishcon de Reya LLP and Visiting Professor at King's College in London, where he teaches international and comparative trust law. An English solicitor with a Swiss background, Filippo is able to straddle the civil law / common law divide - notable work in this area includes advising governments on the recognition of trusts and the introduction of new laws on foundations. His campaign on the data protection repercussion of FATCA, the CRS and the public BO Registers for compliant individuals' fundamental rightsearned him STEP's Geoffrey Shindler Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession in 2020.

Paul Verhaeghe is a lawyer since 1998 and a member of the Brussels Bar Association (Dutch speaking). Fields of law he practices next to tax law: criminal financial law, insurance law, liability of number professions and estate law. Partner of Wanted Law. Law degree: University of Ghent (1995) - Tax law degree: Université libre de Bruxelles (1998). He is a member of IFA Belgium and of the Belgian Association of Tax Lawyers (BATL). Director of BATL since 2018. He follows taxation of digital business models and provided input on this emerging branch of tax law.

CA Advocates (Pourgoura & Aspri LLC) was established in May 2011 by Celia Pourgoura and Alexia Aspri who had an aspiration to create a progressive commercial and corporate law firm by offering tailor made professional services by directing each client’s needs in a personal and individual way. Although the Firm advises on all areas of Cyprus law, it focuses mainly on the business side of the legal affairs of investing into and via Cyprus driven by the favourable tax circumstances of Cyprus with core specialisations on commercial, corporate, banking, financing, shipping, real estate law as well as immigration.

Fairwinds International Bank offers clients a boutique banking experience with exceptional service and knowledge. We offer global custody and banking services for international individuals, corporates and Trusts & foundations. Our dedicated multilingual team possesses a diverse set of experience and expertise to assist our clients with their international banking needs.

IQ-EQ is a leading investor services group that brings together a rare combination of global technical expertise and deep understanding of client needs. We have the know-how and the ‘know you’ to provide a comprehensive range of compliance, administration, asset and advisory services to fund managers, multinational companies, family offices and private clients operating worldwide. IQ-EQ employs a global workforce of 4,750+ people located in 25 jurisdictions and has assets under administration (AUA) exceeding US$750 billion. IQ-EQ works with 11 of the world’s top 15 private equity firms.

International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI) provide administrative and technical support to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime and Corporate Registries. IRI has been administering corporate and maritime programs and involved in flag State administration since 1948. The RMI Maritime Registry is one of the leading registries in the world with the youngest fleet. RMI business entities can be utilized for a variety of purposes including real and intellectual property holdings, asset management, international trade, estate planning, vessel ownership, and IPOs. IRI prides itself on providing reliable and prompt service to the international business community, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Premier Financial Services Limited is an experienced corporate services provider licensed in Mauritius. Premier Group operates mainly through three licensed companies based in Mauritius, Seychelles, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It supported by its representative office in South Africa. Premier provides bespoke services such as corporate services, trustee services, tax planning and tax mitigation, wealth management and asset protection, cross border investments holding and financing, International trade with profit centres and exit strategy, fund administration, compliance and accounting and fund management services.

We are a highly skilled team of experts with extensive experience in wealth planning, international tax law, and legal and compliance matters. We specialize in wealth planning for international families, with life insurance at the core of our solutions. The "1291" in our company name signifies the birth year of Switzerland and reflects our commitment to upholding Swiss core values of independence. We are licensed as insurance brokers in 36 countries and offer country-specific solutions for 50 countries. Founded in 2000, we have since grown to 80+ employees in 14 jurisdictions.

Michael Kyprianou Advocates and Legal Consultants is a leading Cyprus law firm, having established an enviable reputation as a broad based legal practice. The firm has offices in Nicosia, Limassol and Paphos, as well as in Germany, Greece, Israel, Malta, UAE, UK, and Ukraine. Its international presence enables the firm to handle complex cross-border cases and local matters alike. The firm represents corporate and private clients in the areas of Corporate and Commercial, International Tax Planning, Estate Planning, Banking and Finance, Dispute Resolution, Immovable Property, among other areas of law.

STEP is a global professional body, comprising lawyers, accountants, trustees, and other practitioners that help families plan for their futures. The Society provides confidence to families by setting standards, training, and educating its members, and upholding those standards. Full STEP members, known as TEPs (Trust and Estate Practitioners), are internationally recognised as experts in their field, with proven qualifications and experience. Its members are drawn from the legal, accountancy, corporate trust, banking, insurance, and other related professions. Among other benefits STEP membership entails, are access to the largest group of trust and estate practitioners worldwide (listed in the annually published STEP Directory), subscription to the STEP and STEP Avanti periodicals, exchange of information and knowledge through frequent conferences and reports, and the provision of skilled training to students via the STEP diploma and certification programmes. STEP Cyprus was established in 2003 and compared to population it is one of the largest STEP branches in the world and very active within STEP Europe and STEP global.