Investigators to quiz Vgenopoulos in Athens next week

By Andria Kades

CYPRIOT investigators and a member of the legal services are headed to Athens next week to question former Laiki strongman Andreas Vgenopoulos and his associates, according to Justice minister Ionas Nicolaou.

Speaking to state broadcaster CyBC, he said Vgenopoulos had asked for more time to respond to questions put to him last week by Greek authorities. He is expected to provide them in September, as courts will be closed during the summer.

Vgenopoulos and 11 others, as well as his investment group MIG, are defendants in a civil suit brought against them by legacy Laiki’s administrator, who claimed they abused their power in running Laiki.

It is alleged that they knowingly took imprudent banking decisions in favour of MIG or its subsidiaries – in which they simultaneously held high-ranking positions, creating an alleged conflict of interest – thus violating their fiduciary duty to Laiki’s shareholders

Vgenopoulos, MIG and other businessmen have brought a case against the Republic of Cyprus before the International Court of Arbitration.

They are seeking damages in excess of €1 billion – the sum total of their investment in the failed bank – for “illegal actions or omissions leading to the collapse of Laiki Bank.”

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.