‘Conspiracy of silence’ charge in BoC trial

The defendants in the Bank of Cyprus case engaged in a conspiracy of silence to manipulate the market, opting not to discuss the issue of writedowns – and ensuing capital needs – in the board meeting of June 14, 2012, state prosecutor Polina Efthivoulou argued in court on Monday.
Efthivoulou was referring to the defendants in the trial of five former BoC top officials, as well as the lender itself, for market manipulation and misleading investors with regard to the bank’s true capital needs in 2012.
According to the prosecutor, the sum total of the evidence is circumstantial, and as such needs to be examined in its entirety at the conclusion of the trial.
The court will issue a ruling on whether a case against the six defendants can be substantiated, in which case they will be asked to defend themselves, otherwise they will be cleared of all charges, on April 27.
Meanwhile, following a question by the bench, the prosecution withdrew two charges against the Bank of Cyprus, which were based on its failure to report its capital shortfall at the annual general meeting of June 19, 2012.
According to the law, a legal entity is obliged to reveal such information to the investing public through specific channels – namely, in a statement to the Cyprus Stock Exchange or the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, or a post on its website – which do not include an annual general meeting.

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.