WHAT BEGAN as an internal investigation by auditors over payments made to a housemaid at the Cyprus embassy in Moscow has become a fraud inquiry by the Foreign Ministry, led by Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides and Director-general Christodoulos Pashardis.
The investigation centres on the ambassador to Moscow, Charalambos Ioannides, who allegedly made payments to a fictitious ‘second’ housemaid to mask false claims for expenses at the embassy. Auditor-general Chrystalla Yiorkadji confirmed that the investigation was taking place into alleged payments to a housemaid and that the sum involved was $900.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is investigating the accusations. It has been agreed that a report be submitted to the Auditor-general’s office once the investigation has been completed, and that if help is needed during the investigation it will be provided. Should the findings of the investigation require it, the Auditor-general’s office will intervene,” Yiorkadji said.
According to a report in Politis, the alleged financial irregularities took place between October and December 2001 when expense receipts were submitted to the accounts department at the Foreign Ministry claiming salary payments for a second housemaid. The ministry sent a letter to the embassy in Moscow asking for more details about the new employee and advising that a second housemaid was not required.
A letter of explanation sent by Ioannides reportedly failed to persuade ministry officers who demanded that a list be sent to the Foreign Ministry of all those working at the embassy to verify the names and exact number of employees. According to the paper the requested details never arrived, and an internal investigation, headed by Director-general Pashardis, was launched.
Pashardis was not available yesterday to confirm the details of the investigation.
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.
