Nicosia, Cyprus. Members of the House institutions committee on Wednesday questioned the oversight procedure for former public officials taking private sector jobs within two years of leaving office, citing former energy minister Giorgios Lakkotrypis’ applications.
A representative of the three-member commission overseeing such applications told the committee that Lakkotrypis filed 12 applications, withdrew two, and received approval for the remaining 10.
Committee concerns over review process
MP Irene Charalambides questioned how applications are evaluated, saying that in some cases the process appears limited to formally recording information declared by applicants without substantive investigation.
Charalambides also questioned what information the energy ministry provided to the commission in Lakkotrypis’ case after he left office, and said the matter should be investigated by a criminal investigator.
Calls for transparency and possible court action
Alexandra Attalides of Volt cited a lack of transparency in Lakkotrypis’ case and said parliament should address the situation in a serious manner.
Attalides said parliament does not currently have all the necessary information to evaluate the issue and suggested MPs consider taking the matter to the constitutional court to ensure the information is released.
Timeline of applications and related allegations
Lakkotrypis’ applications were filed between July 2020, when he left the energy ministry, and July 2022, when the mandatory two-year period for applying to the commission expired.
The Cyprus Mail was informed last month that the requests related either to participation on company boards or to providing consultancy services.
The issue emerged after a video posted on social media last month appeared to show Lakkotrypis offering access to the government in exchange for money. In the footage, Lakkotrypis appears as an energy consultant and later acknowledged receiving €15,000 for a three-month consultancy fee with the non-existent company Stratix Wealth, which claimed interest in investing €150 million in Cyprus’ energy sector.
What steps do you think parliament should take to obtain the information needed to assess the commission’s decisions?
