Cyprus fires its honorary consul in Bonn

THE CABINET has ended the appointment of Cyprus’ honorary consul in Bonn, Germany, after a series of actions and inactions “compromised” his position as representative of the country.

During a meeting earlier this week, the cabinet adopted a proposal by the foreign ministry to end his appointment following recommendations by the Cypriot embassy in Berlin. 

According to diplomatic sources, allegations of wrongdoing first surfaced in 2010 but took some years to verify before the ministry could go ahead and recommend the removal of Ioannis Vasiliou as the honorary consul in Bonn. 

The same sources said that following a series of actions and inactions, Vasiliou “compromised himself and by extension the Republic and as such, could no longer represent the country”. 

According to yesterday’s Politis, Vasiliou was made honorary consul in 2003. In 2010, the Cypriot embassy in Berlin informed the ministry of allegations that he was overcharging for entry visas and recommended termination of his services. 

However, the ministry had to verify the allegations before acting, while the consul had his own friends within the ministry who continued to support his appointment. 

In 2012, the embassy in Berlin informed the ministry that Vasiliou was taken before a German court a year earlier on money laundering charges. Initially facing criminal charges, the German authorities reached a settlement with Vasiliou, reducing the charges to a minor misdemeanour resulting in a €1,000 fine, reported Politis. 

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.