Audit office reviews 1974 prisoner of war lists and benefit payments

Nicosia, Cyprus. The audit office is preparing a report examining the lists used to identify 1974 prisoners of war and the payment of related benefits. Its findings are expected to be published soon.

Audit review

The office confirmed to the Cyprus Mail on Wednesday that auditor-general Andreas Papaconstantinou had received reports on the matter.

The review follows claims that individuals may have been incorrectly included on prisoner lists and subsequently received an allowance of €1,000 every six months.

Concerns over lists

Prisoners of war association chief Vassos Christou told Phileleftheros that a former presidential commissioner had informed him that between 60 and 70 people may have been wrongly included on lists of missing persons.

Christou said the association was not claiming that all cases were fraudulent, but was seeking an audit to determine which cases involved genuine prisoners.

Records to be compared

According to Christou, the audit office will compare names on lists held by the Red Cross, the National Guard and the interior ministry with the names of people receiving prisoner benefits.

The matter has arisen because different lists have historically been used to determine eligibility for prisoner of war status.

Christou said the Red Cross list should be considered the definitive record, as it is the only record of prisoners registered when they were released by Turkish forces.

He had previously told MPs on the House refugee committee that some individuals may have obtained National Guard certificates confirming prisoner status without being entitled to them. He said officers had allegedly signed certificates that were subsequently accepted by the defence ministry.