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New revelations connected with cancelled or written off loans to politicians, their relatives and trade unionists have scandalized Cyprus. The loans were granted by the two largest banks in Cyprus, namely Laiki Bank and the Bank of Cyprus, which are today subject to liquidation. According to publications in the Greek press, a Cypriot news portal has made the revelations.

Following the first disclosure of the names, Petros Kliridis, a deputy of the ruling party Democratic Rally (DISI), insists on submitting the list of persons with cancelled loans to the commission for institutional transparency to parliament. He requires an investigation to establish the circumstances under which amounts of millions of euro, that had been granted to companies and individuals involved in politics and diplomacy, to local government organizations and trade union movements, were cancelled. Adamos Adamou, who is a deputy of the communist Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL), also suggests that the case should be clarified.

On Thursday afternoon, documents containing the names of favoured borrowers were submitted to prosecutor Petros Kleridis. He will undertake the formal investigation of the case. The list published by Ethnos in Greece contains the names of 19 people and companies that are supposed to have been improperly exempted from the payment of their bank debts.

In the period 2007-2012, the Bank of Cyprus cancelled the loans to:

- T.H.E. hotel chain (connected with the communist party AKEL) - 2.8 million euro;
- Pan Cyprian Labour Organisation - 193,000 euro;
- Company NMG, which has a direct connection with a senior member of the communist party AKEL - 11,000 euro;
- A former member of DISI with initials P. P. was also relieved from a loan of 101,000 euro;
- At.ltd, a company which is also connected to the ruling DISI, was relieved from the payments of a loan of 11,000 euro;
- The son of a former minister from AKEL was also relieved from the repayment of a loan of two thousand euro;
- A former deputy of DISI with initials S. H. took a loan of 26,000 euro, which he was not required to pay in full;
- A colleague of his from the same party with initials Ev. S. E. took advantage of the same service for a loan of 16,000 euro;
- The bank cancelled the 17,000-euro loan of a mayor from the communist party AKEL;
- The daughter-in-law of a deputy of the Democratic Party DIKO was relieved from a loan to the amount of 330,000 euro;
- The company of the former head of DISI and a former minister was able to cancel a loan of 399,000 euro.

The loans cancelled by Hellenic Bank belong to:

- Company T. Trading Co Ltd, 80% of which belong to the wife of a former member of a small party with initials H. K. The bank cancelled the loan of the company amounting to over half a million euro. The total value of the loan was 1.65 million euro and the cancelled amount - 543,000 euro.

 Laiki Bank cancelled the loans to:

- Former deputy of AKEL, Ar. G., to the amount of 39,000 euro;
- Former deputy of DISI, An. G. He was relieved from the repayment of a bank loan of 71,000 euro in June 2011;
- Former deputy of DISI with initials S. H. - 54,000 euro. The Bank of Cyprus cancelled the loan of the same deputy to the amount of 54,000 euro;
- A leading Cypriot politician who holds 51% of a local company is also among those who had the opportunity to benefit from their high posts. The company owes 5.8 million dollars and the debt was included for cancellation at the beginning of 2014;
- The former wife of a senior member of the Ministry of Environment was relieved from a loan of 18.5 thousand euro in 2010;
- The company, which belongs to an active member of the diplomatic corps, P.N., was relieved from 14,000 euro in 2012.

The Council of Ministers has set itself the aim of addressing and examining the problem in detail and seeking direct responsibility for the current situation, which directly affects the banking system and the economy of the country.
 
The head of the inquiry commission, George Pikis, and its members - Panagiotis Kallis and Giannakis Konstantinidis will follow the developments in the financial system of Cyprus. They will start with HSBC’s withdrawal from Laiki Bank in 2006. They will revise the purchase and sale of Greek government bonds and the Summit’s decision on the Greek debt haircut. They will also reconsider the selection of Pimco to make an analysis of the banking environment in Cyprus and will reassess the need for Laiki Bank to obtain emergency assistance from the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA).

In investigating the causes of the financial collapse of Cyprus, the commission will also examine the salaries and bonuses of senior bank officials and will revise the internal control of the banks and the adequacy of the decisions of senior staff and management boards as reported by Fileletheros.