The Finding of the inquiry into the collapse of the Coop Bank is damning for the Anastasiades-DISY Government

Statement by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Stefanos Stefanou

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 6 March 2019, Nicosia

The Finding of the Commission of Inquiry looking into the collapse of the Cyprus Co-operative Bank is a bombshell and damning for the government. The Commission in no uncertain terms blamed the Anastasiades-DISY Government for the collapse of the Coop Bank.

It is this government that undertook in 2013 the management of the Coop Bank. Its recapitalization two times, in 2013 and 2015, shows that the Coop was considered viable and therefore – as the Finding notes – “its final collapse cannot be sought in all that took place before 2013“.

The Finding attributes to the Minister of Finance, who assumed on behalf of the government the management of the Coop Bank, severe political responsibilities that are like the responsibilities of any majority shareholder of a private company, which ends up being dissolved due to his/her mismanagement.

It is the government that appointed directors and consultants in the Coop Bank. It is the government that up until the collapse of the Bank was misinforming society and the House of Representatives about the state of affairs in the Coop Bank. It is the government that sold off the Coop Bank to a private bank in a very bad deal.

The first reaction of the Finance Minister to the Finding isn’t just disappointing. It is an expression of a political behaviour of the Anastasiades-DISY government, which has never, not even once, shown sensitivity for anything to accept the responsibility for something. The government and ruling forces are always trying to shift responsibilities elsewhere and where they can’t do this, they try to disclaim their responsibilities by counterbalancing and leveling.

We note that the Finding also assigns responsibilities on the President of the Republic. Firstly, because he didn’t remove the Minister from his duties, and secondly, because he was aware, and yet “the President concealed completely the dramatic developments that were taking place during this period”, as the Finding points out. The election and his re-election, as one can see, were more important to the President than the fate of the Cyprus Cooperative Bank.

The Minister of Finance must resign, and if not, the President must step him down. His resignation, of course, does not make amends for the government for one of the biggest financial crimes that have been committed in our country. The government’s responsibilities are collective and can’t be erased.

The Report raises many issues that must be investigated further. We shall study the Finding in detail and will come back to the matter.