MOSCOW, April 15 - RAPSI. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades announced new measures his country plans to take in order to ease citizenship requirements for foreign investors whose savings have suffered as a result of the EU bailout, the BBC reported Sunday.

Cyprus has had to agree to overhaul its outsized banking sector and force losses on bondholders and savers with accounts of over 100,000 euros in the country’s two biggest banks in return for the much-needed 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

According to the BBC report, Anastasiades issued the announcement at a Russian business conference in Limassol, where he reassured that the new regulations would “mitigate to some extent the damage” suffered by wealthy Russians, who have invested billions in the formerly popular offshore zone.

Regulations will reportedly include a reduction in the required amount invested in the country from €10 million to €3 million. Likewise, citizens-by-investment will have access to their money automatically rather than having to endure a five-year waiting period.

It was announced earlier that a number of Russian holders of bank accounts in the country intended to sue Cypriot authorities over the bailout decision once it became known that it would strip people of a substantial part of their savings.

Andreas Sofokleous, founder and managing partner of the Andreas Sofokleous & Co. law firm, told RIA Novosti late last month: "Our defense attorneys are drafting complaints to courts to protect our clients' interests." He noted that he was not sure how likely they would be to succeed in che claims: "There is a chance, but the Cypriot judicial system is very slow. We will see the outcome in 5-6 years’ time."