Government to close loopholes in Turkish Cypriot property law

By George Psyllides

INTERIOR MINISTER Christodoulos Christodoulou yesterday announced that the law governing the administration of Turkish Cypriot property would be amended.

The law was passed in 1991 and concerns the management of Turkish Cypriot property abandoned by its owners after the 1974 invasion, much of which was taken over by Greek Cypriot refugees.

But the minister that some unscrupulous individuals had also taken advantage of the abandoned property, becoming very rich in the process.

Christodoulou was speaking at a news conference to present the results of an investigation into allegations of illegal handling of Turkish Cypriot property.

But it turned out that most of the cases looked into were not in fact illegal because of weaknesses in the current law.

Christodoulou said there had been “25 years of anarchy” in the handling of Turkish Cypriot properties, and added that the state lost around £2.5 million a year due to mismanagement.

The minister maintained the law as stood could not deal with illegalities because it was “vague and insufficient”.

His ministry would prepare amendments in the next six months to close all the loopholes, he said.

“Some people became rich from these properties, others have taken two or four houses when they needed only one, and some acquired 500 donums while others got nothing,” Christodoulou said.

“Those cases will be regulated with the new law,” he added.

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