500 Names Investigated In CSE Probe

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

02 November 2004

According to a report in the national press, up to 500 cases relating to the Cyprus Stock Exchange bubble in 1999/2000 have been investigated by the police, but only a small percentage of this figure have been forwarded for trial.

Following the conviction of the owner of now defunct firm Max Data Ltd for defrauding investors, the Financial Mirror revealed that 78 cases are now pending before the courts.

Deputy Attorney General Petro Clerides has revealed that six members of the Cypriot government's Legal Services department are investigating the CSE affair, although he cautioned that not all of the names submitted have committed a crime.

“People are under the impression that with the conclusion of the CSE Investigation Committee work and the publication of the probe, then everybody mentioned there is guilty and will go to jail,” Clerides commented, according to the Financial Mirror.

He added, however: “This is wrong, since in many cases no criminal offences have been committed. In cases where regulations and the law have been violated, and subject to the legal services securing the relevant proof, then we shall not hesitate to prosecute the culprits.”

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