Silver lining to Tymvios case?

Sirs,

I was interested in the legal aspects of the ECHR decision in relation to the Mike Tymvios case.

Mr Tymvios will now have to hand over his $1 million to the Official Receiver of the Republic (OR) on the grounds that the sums which he has recovered relate to property which would have been in the possession of the OR on the date of  Mr Tymvios’s bankruptcy, were it not for the for the fact that the OR was prevented from accessing or dealing with that property as a result of the Turkish occupation. He would have to pay off his bankruptcy debt, costs and interest, not to mention capital gains tax before any surplus is returned to him.

That would be the rule for such a bankruptcy in the UK. It seems to me therefore that the OR might have done rather better out of the ruling than everyone seems to think.

Chris Christofi, London, UK

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.