Dimitris Dimitriou, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Institutions and a member of the Committee on Disclosure of Assets, has announced rapid developments regarding the case of a false and misleading declaration currently under review by committee members against a former minister, who failed to disclose bank accounts in Cyprus, abroad, and a property. As he explained on the Alpha News program, the Committee has already requested an opinion from the Legal Service, which will be submitted to it within two weeks. Subsequently, the Commission will inform the Legal Service regarding the further handling of the case.
“In such a case, the law provides for a prison sentence and a fine. Of course, this is not something that the House of Representatives will impose.”
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Mr. Dimitriou stated that during their examination of the case, the Committee members did not find evidence of illicit enrichment, but rather a false and misleading declaration of assets. He also clarified that the responsibility for investigating potential tax evasion lies with the Commissioner of Taxes, who was the one who identified the irregularities on the part of the former minister.
“The provision of the law was and remains clear; it refers to assets both within and outside Cyprus.”
The Declaration of Assets Committee was informed by the Tax Commissioner that the former official in question failed to include in his Declaration of Assets bank accounts totaling €2.4 million and a property acquired between 2023—when he was appointed—and his departure from the government. As Mr. Dimitriou noted, the bank accounts were identified within the Eurosystem.
“There is a shortfall in one account that corresponds to the value of the property.”
According to what journalist and host Katia Savva reported on the show, she contacted the former official, who claimed that he had declared his foreign bank accounts and that the amounts in question were small sums held in bank accounts in Cyprus. He even claimed that he had already submitted an amended tax return to the Tax Commissioner. Mr. Dimitriou confirmed this information, noting that the Tax Commissioner has already informed the Committee on the Origin of Wealth regarding the amended tax return, in accordance with the provisions of the relevant legislation.
“Regardless of what the former official told you—because he may not have understood correctly—it was the Tax Commissioner who discovered the offshore accounts.”
At the same time, Mr. Dimitriou defended the provisions of the amended legislation on the “Pothen Esches” declaration, stating that it is now stricter, more effective, and more efficient, as declarations are submitted every five years and require the signature of a certified public accountant.
“To date, no case has ever been pursued by the Commission; it was merely a matter of public disclosure. For example, in my declaration I list one car, but my neighbor sees that I have six and reports it. This happened only once involving a former minister and some companies; his declaration was correct, since at that time no one had the right to examine the company’s financial details.”
He also noted that all re-elected members of parliament must file their financial disclosure statements for the period from 2024 to the present by the end of October, while those who did not run for re-election or were not re-elected to office must also submit their financial disclosure statements so they can be compared with their previous ones.
“He is the only one who can come knocking on my door or yours tomorrow and tell us that he’s going to audit our assets. He has that right.”
When asked whether the Tax Commissioner is cooperating sufficiently with European and third-party authorities to determine whether someone has a bank account abroad, Mr. Dimitriou pointed out that the level of cooperation is satisfactory; however, there are banks in Switzerland or the Virgin Islands that are unwilling to cooperate.
The timeline of the case began to “unfold” last July when the Tax Commissioner informed the Committee on the Declaration of Assets via a letter. On July 23, 2026, the members met and decided to request clarification from Sotiris Markidis. Last Thursday, the members met in the presence of the Tax Commissioner and were briefed on the matter.
