Audit office blasts appointment of Hermes official to gaming authority

Hermes Airport Marketing Director Maria Kouroupi cannot be on the National Gaming and Casino Supervision Authority due to interest convergence, the audit office said on Wednesday.

The statement followed a decision of the incompatibility investigation committee suggesting the appointment of Kouroupi does not involve any incompatibility.

But the audit office said there is an obvious convergence of interests between Hermes Airports Ltd and the company that manages the casino.

Based on the Casino Operation and Control 2015 Law, a person who is professionally engaged in businesses related to the activities of the casino resort, among others, cannot be appointed as a member of the National Gaming and Casino Supervision Authority, the audit office said.

According to the same law, any appointment requires the prior written consent of the House commerce committee.

However, the committee rejected the specific appointment which had been recommended by the cabinet, on May 2, this year.

The audit office considers there to be an “obvious alignment of interests” between Hermes Airports Ltd and the company that manages the casino.

Therefore, in the view of the audit office, the management of airports, especially in a country where airports are essentially the only gateway for tourists, is related to the activities of the casino.

The issue is not a legal one “but a real one and as such we invite the relevant House committee to approach it,” the audit office said, noting that the decision of the incompatibility committee does not differentiate the facts.

Although the alignment of the interests of the two companies is not at all negative but very positive, “the Marketing Director of Hermes Airports cannot supervise a company with which they have common interests and with which they are expected to develop joint marketing plans to attract tourists,” the audit office added.