Audit Office flags eight questionable benefit payments to 1974 prisoners of war

Nicosia, Cyprus. The Audit Office has found eight doubtful benefit payments to people registered as prisoners of war during the 1974 Turkish invasion. It cautioned that further ineligible recipients may exist, because there is no single dependable database for verifying beneficiaries.

Call for a review of records

In a special report released on Thursday, the Audit Office urged a full review and update of existing records. It had found considerable discrepancies between the authorities that identify prisoners of war and those that administer their benefits.

The inquiry followed a complaint from the Association of Prisoners of War of 1974. It established that 852 people received at least one of the relevant benefits in 2025, and that the schemes paid out roughly €8.93 million during that year.

Warnings from the auditor-general

Auditor-general Andreas Papaconstantinou said the findings pointed to more than isolated mistakes. In his view they revealed broader weaknesses in a fragmented and largely manual system, which relies on historical records that can be incomplete or impossible to check.

In his foreword to the report, he wrote that acknowledging the suffering and contribution of those held captive during the invasion is a basic duty of the state. He added that because the benefits are honorary, it is essential that the money reaches genuine beneficiaries.

He also noted that the audit covered only a sample of cases, and cautioned that “The number of ineligible recipients receiving benefits may be higher”.

Sources checked and sums paid

Auditors compared data held by the social insurance services (SIS) and the welfare benefits administration service (WBAS) with three other sources. These were the defence ministry’s register of prisoners of war, military conscription records and the archives of the Cyprus Red Cross.

Of the roughly €8.93 million paid in 2025, about €8.34 million went through the SIS and €588,099 through the WBAS. The benefits consist of a monthly honorary allowance of between €5.23 and €83.68, plus a lump sum of €1,000 paid every six months. The report does not determine how much may have been paid in error.

Recipients who could not be matched

Auditors first found 150 recipients who could not be matched against Cyprus Red Cross records. The defence ministry’s register later turned up 130 of them, while the other 20 were in neither source. Fifteen of those 20 received benefits through the SIS and five through the WBAS.