CBC investigation ‘moving rapidly’

By Elias Hazou

POLICE are evaluating material seized from the Central Bank (CBC) headquarters, as part of a probe into a complaint relating to the leaked details of politicians’ loans.

“The investigation is moving rapidly… authorities are evaluating the content of computer hard drives and are taking statements,” police spokesman Andreas Angelides said on Thursday.

Once completed, the investigation’s findings would be forwarded to the Attorney-general’s office.

Acting on a court warrant, police officers had on Tuesday searched the CBC in connection with a complaint regarding the leaking of information on MPs’ bank loans.

According to the police, the case related to violation of the law on personal data.

The search followed a complaint filed by independent MP Zaharias Koulias.

On Wednesday, CBC chief Chrystalla Georghadji gave a statement to police.

The issue came to the fore in March after publication of a list of MPs and their loans at Bank of Cyprus.

It showed that out of the 37 MPs listed, 19 owed BoC a total of €51.2m and 13 of those had NPLs totaling €35.3m.

Their total combined collateral stood at €47.1m. In addition, 20 out of the 37 were guarantors for loans worth €72.9m.

Georghadji said at the time that the list was put together in the same way the UK does with respect to politically exposed persons.

But incensed MPs accused the central bank of blackmailing lawmakers through leaks to the press with information about their loan arrears.

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.