At least this is the assumption suggested by company secretary W., who is registered in the Cypriot commercial register. He is a German consultant who offers such start-ups. And Soufi-Siavash appears to have followed advice like the one W. gives to his potential clients in promotional videos.
This includes creating a small homepage for the limited company, preferably with an email address, which makes it easier to set up a bank account in Cyprus. Such a homepage with vague information about business activities actually exists – but the email address leads nowhere and there is no reference to the actual “Apolut” homepage.
According to W., what is particularly important is “a real center of life” in Cyprus, which means: a residence registration with a permanently available apartment and a stay of at least 60 days a year.
And in mid-April, Soufi-Siavash actually said in a video interview with a companion: He had been living out of suitcases for three and a half years, had been to Austria, had been to Sweden. “Now I’m even further out. I’m on an island now where I don’t have to think about what to wear in the morning, just a t-shirt.” It’s quick by plane. “It takes about four hours, so I’m commuting a bit now.”
The information corresponds quite closely to a non-stop flight from Berlin to Larnaca in Cyprus, where his new company is registered. The interview took place a week after Apolut Creatives Limited was founded. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution might also be interested in this – at least if the claims that Soufi-Siavash’s interview partner made at the time are true.
“What I have here in copy is a letter from the Brandenburg secret service (…) and they are writing to all possible colleagues, acquaintances, work colleagues of yours, regarding information about the workshop ‘The Power of Propaganda’,” said Soufi-Siavashs interlocutor and presented a piece of paper. The recipients would be asked to “ideally tell Soufi-Siavash: when he is where, what he said and when to whom, what accounts, relatives, acquaintances he has and where he will appear next.”
t-online cannot understand whether this information is correct. In June, the Brandenburg state parliament finally passed a law: It would allow the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution to carry out financial investigations against objects of surveillance even if they are not proven to be militant. A shell company in Cyprus could potentially also be an advantage for Soufi-Siavash.
