Former minister failed to declare €2.4m in assets, MP says

Nicosia, Cyprus. A former minister who served in the Christodoulides government failed to declare €2.4 million in assets, Disy MP Demetris Demetriou said on Monday. The undeclared assets included bank deposits in Cyprus and abroad, as well as an overseas property.

Audit findings

Demetriou, a member of the special parliamentary committee overseeing wealth and income declarations by public officials, known as pothen esches, told Alpha TV that the amount was uncovered in an audit conducted after the former minister left office.

The audit was carried out under legislation that assigned responsibility for reviewing declarations to the tax department for the first time.

“Previously, no audit was carried out at all,” Demetriou said, adding that under the previous system, “everyone declared whatever they wanted.”

Updated declarations

Demetriou said the audit found no evidence of unjust enrichment, as the money had been in the former minister’s possession before his appointment in 2023.

However, the assets had not been included in the former minister’s pothen esches declarations for that year. Following intervention by the tax commissioner, the former minister submitted updated declarations for 2023 and 2026.

Committee action

The tax department informed the parliamentary committee of the case in a confidential letter dated July 23, Demetriou said.

The committee met last Thursday to consider the matter and decided to seek an opinion on whether the former minister may have committed a criminal offence.

Demetriou said he disagreed with the decision, arguing that the case should be referred directly to Attorney General George Savvides.