COMMERCE, Industry and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis says he has referred the issue of alleged irregularities in the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) budget to Attorney-general Alecos Markides for his legal opinion.
Rolandis was briefing the House Commerce Ministry on the spat between him and the CTO board over the purchase of a new car for the semi-government body’s Director-general, Phryne Michael.
The Minister alleges that the CTO budget, approved by parliament in February, contained an “extra” £51,000. Rolandis says £20,000 of this was for a new car for Michael, an expense he himself rejected because she should have changed her car in 1999 when the government would have received a full refund from the dealer.
A probe has already been ordered by the Cabinet, but the CTO board has denied any wrongdoing and has called for an independent investigating committee to take over the probe, alleging that the Ministry investigation was not objective.
Yesterday Rolandis insisted irregularities had occurred and that the actions of the CTO board in this instance were “unprecedented”, according to his Ministry’s investigation.
“On the one hand I’ve been in touch with the Attorney-general, but I am still waiting for ruling, and on the other hand I am contacting the board of the CTO to take disciplinary measures,” Rolandis said. He has rejected the idea of an independent investigation, saying the issue comes under his jurisdiction.
The CTO claims that Rolandis’ ministry had known about the money for a new car for Michael long before the budget went to parliament.
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.
