By Martin Hellicar
THE PRESIDENT’S ban on ministers securing shares by private placements should have come earlier and should cover parties too, opposition politicians insisted yesterday.
On Monday, President Clerides barred cabinet members from enjoying private placements after it was revealed that former Communications Minister Leontios Ierodiaconou had secured some 52,000 Louis Cruise Line shares in this manner. Questions were raised about the ex-minister’s shares when the New Horizons party claimed he had, before his resignation, arranged for Louis to secure a licence for a charter flight firm. Ierodiaconou dismisses the charges.
Clerides’ ban was welcomed by all yesterday, but opposition parties also complained it was too little too late.
Socialist Edek insisted the ban should cover parties and should have been imposed when it became clear, soon after the July Louis share issue, that governing Disy and opposition party Diko had bought thousands of shares by private placement.
The two right-wing parties insist there is nothing irregular about their securing shares in this manner, and that it does not mean they owe Louis any favours.
But their share deals continued to draw criticism yesterday.
“The same reasons of political ethics that are true for ministers are true for parties, as parties can with their decisions favour or appear to favour companies in which they have financial interests,” an Edek statement read.
The fringe New Horizons party agreed with Edek, and called for the ban to be extended to civil servants.
Clerides is seeking the advice of Attorney-general Alecos Markides on the legality of extending the ban to government employees.
The issue was made urgent by the revelation on Monday that the director of the Communications Ministry, Vassos Pyrgos, had secured Louis shares by private placement. Pyrgos chairs the ministerial committee that granted Louis the licence to run a charter flight subsidiary. He insists he has done no wrong.
Kikis Kazamias, deputy for main opposition party Akel, described Clerides’s move as “positive” but not enough, and attacked Ierodiaconou’s actions.
“Though it is clear that there is nothing legally suspect about what the minister in question did, yet we see widespread public concern and displeasure at such actions,” he said. “Imagine if the Finance Minister or Central Bank governor were found to have received privileged shares in a bank,” he added. Diko deputy Nicos Pittokopitis went much further, claiming that many in government positions were making money through shady share deals.
“The big scandal is not taking place with private placements in one company but secretly in salons and suites and under tables,” the outspoken Paphos deputy said.
He spoke of “people suddenly making it rich when they had been struggling to make ends meet.” He said those benefitting from such underhand deals were public officials.
Louis meanwhile issued a statement defending the manner in which it handed out private placements.
There was nothing illegal about the way the placements were granted and the number of officials who received placements “could be counted on the fingers of two hands,” Louis said.
The company rejected the allegations that they had done share deals with officials to get a charter flights licence.
“Providing shares for officials has nothing to do with other activities of the company or with favourable treatment by the state.”
