Don't know about Cyprus but there's very little "dirty" Russian money going on here on Iceland. Many Brits and Danish people think this though. Mostly because Icelanders are buying up everything they possibly can in both countries. What happened on Iceland is that about 10-15 years ago the system was changed to help companies to grow. There were already a lot of companies that had enough money but didn't have readily available loans. When the loans were more available these businessmen already knew how to make a whole lot of profit in a small market. When they had the chance to expand abroad the profits soared. But I understand how wierd it looks for people abroad when Icelanders suddenly own "national" brands like Woolworths, House of Fraser, Hamleys, Karen Millen and Oasis. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6170062.stm