Christos P Panayiotides
I am not in the habit of boasting but today I will make an exception. There are not many Greek-speaking certified public accountants with my experience and knowledge in dealing with statements of wealth, also known as capital statements or statements of sources and uses of funds and, in Greek slang, as “where has the money come from?”.
Over a period of 40-odd years serving the accounting profession, I have compiled or examined innumerable such statements and as a consequence, I am fully conversant with this tool and with what it takes to use it effectively.
In an article, which was published by this paper on September 17, 2017, I argued that if our deputies really meant business, they should have rectified all the serious errors that were made in their previous attempt to come up with a system of wealth declarations by politically exposed persons. I then set out a summary of the basic rules that had to be embedded in the relevant legislation in order to render it effective and workable and concluded as follows:
“The failure to correct the serious problems and deficiencies identified in the legislation previously enacted would be a strong indication that the requirements introduced were merely intended to give the impression that the public interest was being protected but, in reality, it was left as exposed as it could possibly be.”
Two years later, on August 18, 2019, I returned to the subject with a new article under the title ‘Independent committee should redraft law on politicians’ assets’, referred to the matter as “a huge political scandal” and described the blunders that were committed “as the result of ignorance or of a technical deficiency or of an intention to mislead the public”.
A year ago, I boldly stated “that all the indications were pointing in the direction that those who enacted the legislation governing the compilation and publication of statements of wealth by politically exposed persons were merely aiming at setting up a smoke screen”. I then added that I considered “this behaviour on the part of our lawmakers as totally unacceptable” and concluded that “they were keeping quiet about this huge problem in the hope that the issue would be swept under the carpet”.
My advice at the time was to redraft the relevant legislation present it for enactment as a matter of urgency. Failing that, the lawmakers were prompted to scrap the law because it was a useless and wasteful piece of legislation. I did not have any doubt that it was a matter of time for the bomb to explode causing enormous damage. Unfortunately, I have not been disproved.
Today, we have one last chance to rectify the situation and to combat corruption, not with hollow words but with concrete steps that would improve the situation effectively and efficiently. I believe that this goal can be attained as follows:
- By redrafting the legislation concerning the statements of wealth of politically exposed persons from scratch. With a lot of intensive work, I believe that this can be done in a month.
- By confining the persons who will be initially required to compile statements of wealth to the members of parliament (including the party leaders), the ministers and deputy ministers, the general directors of the ministries, the president of the Republic, the governor of the central bank, the attorney-general, the auditor-general and a small additional number of top civil servants. Initially, the emphasis should be placed on ensuring that the system functions efficiently and effectively because achieving this goal will transmit a clear message to all that the “merrymaking” has come to an end.
- The statements of wealth should be compiled on an annual basis and should cover the whole of the calendar year (irrespective of when the engagement of the individual commenced or was terminated) and should be filed within a strict deadline of three months of the end of the relevant year.
- Following a quick examination of the reasonableness of the capital statements compiled and their conformity with the law, they should be published (in their standardised summary format) by being uploaded on the internet and should remain accessible to the public for a minimum of 10 years.
If there is a genuine political commitment to combat corruption and collusion, all this can be done very quickly.
The recent revelations of Al Jazeera television and the initial response of the political establishment suggest that the necessary political commitment is lacking, as was the case in the past. However, if we do not press on with courage and determination to uproot corruption from the public service and its offshoots, rest assured that we will see many new episodes of this long-running series. The episode on the laundering of illicit funds, the stock exchange “bubble”, the “haircut” on bank deposits, the sale of “golden passports” and, in general, the process of a few turning rich at the expense of many will continue, leading us to total collapse. And when this happens, we will all have a share of responsibility for what has happened, but the lion’s share will belong to our leaders.
Last Tuesday, the European Commission announced the launching of legal proceedings against Cyprus over the sale of ‘golden passports’ to wealthy investors, saying it was an illegal practice which undermines the good standing of the entire European Union. In the letter in which it said the Commission is seeking explanations from the government of Cyprus, it is stressed that the plans that are subject to the investigation amplify the risks of money laundering, aid and abet tax evasion and promote corruption.
This is the end game. Cyprus has been humiliated. Corrective action must be taken now before it’s too late. Hollow words are not enough.
Christos Panayiotides is a regular columnist for the Cyprus Mail, Sunday Mail and Alithia
