THE BRITISH Bases are considering legal action over allegations made by DIKO deputy Marios Matsakis about the management of the SBA Employees’ Provident Fund.
The politician made the claims on Sigma television on Tuesday night.
A statement from the SBAs said yesterday that the management committee of the provident fund vehemently denied the “defamatory” allegations and were seeking legal advice.
The statement said it was “regrettable that so much distress is caused to the fund members by such irresponsible reporting.”
“The Committee are seeking legal advice to investigate all avenues of redress against those concerned,” it concluded.
Matsakis said yesterday that the Bases could do what they likes and accused them of conducting a witch-hunt to prevent him from getting re-elected.
“The Bases are fighting against me so that I don’t get re-elected as an MP for Limassol and they will do their best to that effect,” Matsakis told the Cyprus Mail.
The row is the latest in a history of conflict between Matsakis and the Bases since he was elected to Parliament five years ago.
All 2,400 civilian employees on the Bases contribute to the Employees’ Provident fund on a monthly basis.
When they retire, they get a one-off payment in lieu of a pension.
The current balance of the fund is £44 million. Bases spokesman Rob Need said the fund had to grow 18 per cent annually in order to replenish itself.
He said the MoD met the difference if the 18 per cent growth target was not reached. If a surplus growth is achieved, then the extra goes into financial speculation.
The fund has invested in the Cyprus Stock Exchange, banks and venture stocks and has permission from the Central Bank to invest anywhere in the world.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
