Exclusive: The Special Parliamentary Committee on Asset Declarations, chaired by Annita Demetriou, is examining the case of a former minister in the Christodoulides government who failed to declare bank accounts worth millions of euros.
A former minister in the Christodoulides government failed to declare an amount running into millions of euros in his Pothen Esches (Asset Declaration) filings. The amount was identified during the most recent audit, carried out after he left his ministerial post, under the new legislation that came into force last January, under which the Tax Commissioner is now responsible for auditing Pothen Esches declarations. Previously, no audit whatsoever was carried out; each person declared whatever they chose.
Under the new legislation, failing to declare assets in a Pothen Esches filing constitutes a criminal offence, and the question of the former minister's criminal prosecution has therefore arisen.
"Parliament has requested a legal opinion on whether any criminal offences were committed. Under the new legislation, failing to declare assets in a Pothen Esches declaration constitutes a criminal offence."
According to information obtained by Politis, there is no indication of unjust enrichment on the part of the former minister, as the audit established that the amount in question was already in his possession before he took up his ministerial post; he simply failed to include it in his Pothen Esches declarations. The former minister is, however, being examined for possible tax evasion.
Parliament informed
Politis has confirmed that the Tax Department duly informed the competent Special Parliamentary Committee on Pothen Esches of the former minister's case, so that the committee could take its own action.
Under the current legislation, the committee is required to inform the Attorney General, so that criminal prosecution of the former minister can be considered.
The chair of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Pothen Esches is, ex officio, the President of the House, Annita Demetriou. The committee's members are Dimitris Dimitriou of DISY, Giorgos Loucaides of AKEL, Linos Papayiannis of ELAM and Panicos Leonidou of DIKO.
Legal opinion sought
According to information obtained by Politis, the former minister voluntarily and within the deadline submitted, around April, an updated Pothen Esches declaration for the year 2026, after being informed by the Tax Department that bank accounts had not been included in his 2023 asset declaration. An update to the 2023 declaration was also made at the same time.
According to the same information, the Special Parliamentary Committee on Pothen Esches, following the relevant briefing from the Tax Department, decided to request a legal opinion on whether the former minister committed a criminal offence by failing to declare, in 2023, movable assets held in his name in Cyprus and abroad. As for the amount that was not declared, information remains unclear: figures mentioned range from €2 million, with other reports putting the amount at between €3 million and €4 million.
P.S.: We sought to contact the former minister but received no response. As soon as we receive his version of events regarding the reasons for the omission, we will also make his name public.
