Police seize documents from ex co-op official’s home

Police on Thursday raided the home of former Secretary General of the Strovolos Co-operative Bank Dimitrakis Stavrou and collected documents believed to relate to loans made during his time at the lender, police spokesman Andreas Angelides said on Friday.

Speaking on state radio on Friday morning, Angelides said a number of documents were obtained, which are being evaluated to establish whether they relate to suspicious loans worth millions of euros.

“The search was conducted on the strength of a search warrant issued by the court,” Angelides said.

“We have seized a number of documents which are already under scrutiny by investigators, and their evaluation will determine whether any individuals need to be brought in for questioning.”

Files relating to loans have gone missing from the bank but it was not specified whether any were found by police during the search of Stavrou’s home.

Last month, the Co-operative Central Bank’s head Nicolas Hadjiyiannis had reported to police the findings of internal audits, which revealed suspicious transactions of millions of euros.

“Those who have harmed the co-operative network will be held accountable,” Hadjiyiannis had pledged.

According to Angelides, the investigation relates to loans made with favourable terms.

“This is part of the broader investigation into the collapse of the economy,” he said.

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