The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has announced that it recently reached settlement agreements with two Cypriot companies, the Cyprus Trading Corporation, and Woolworth (Cyprus) Properties.

In both instances, the commission said that the relevant legislation leading to the settlement was the Transparency Requirements (Transferable Securities Admitted to Trading on a Regulated Market) Law.

Specifically, in regards to the first instance, CySEC noted that under article 37(4) of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission Law of 2009, the commission has the power to reach a settlement for any violation or possible violation, act or omission for which there is reasonable ground to believe that it took place in violation of the provisions of CySEC’s supervised legislation.

In this case, CySEC said that “a settlement has been reached with Directors of the issuer Cyprus Trading Corporation Plc (the “Company”) regarding the possibility of being personally liable for the non-publication of the Annual Financial Report of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2020 in accordance with article 9 of the Transparency Requirements (Securities admitted to trading on a regulated market) Law (the “Law”) within the deadline set by the Law, that is, in this case by 5th May 2021, and subsequently”.

The announcement noted that the company in question published its annual financial report for the year ended December 31 2020, on February 23 2023.

The commission further clarified that the “settlement was reached for the personal liability that possibly arises, concerning the payment of an amount by each director of the company, who was a member of the board of directors at the time the company had to make public its annual financial report for the year ended December 31, 2020, and or subsequently, where there was a continuation of the omission on its part”.

The commission then listed 11 company directors, all of whom paid a total settlement amount of €53,000. CySEC said that the amount has already been paid.

In terms of the second instance, meaning the one concerning Woolworth (Cyprus) Properties, the commission stated that “a settlement has been reached with the directors of the issuer Woolworth (Cyprus) Properties Plc (the “Company”) regarding the possibility of being personally liable for the non-publication of
the Annual Financial Report of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2020, in accordance with article 9 of the Transparency Requirements (Securities admitted to trading on a regulated market) Law (the “Law”) within the deadline set by the Law, that is, in this case by May 5 2021, and subsequently”.

The announcement noted that the company in question published its annual financial report for the year ended December 31, 2020, on February 23, 2023.

CySEC stated that “the settlement reached for the personal liability that possibly arises, concerns the payment of an amount by each director of the company, who was a member of the board of directors at the time the company had to make public its annual financial report for the year ended December 31, 2020, or subsequently, where there was a continuation of the omission on its part”.

The commission then listed 9 company directors, all of whom paid a total settlement amount of €49,000. CySEC said that the amount has already been paid.

Finally, the commission noted that “all amounts payable from settlement agreements are considered revenue of the Treasury of the Republic of Cyprus and do not constitute income of CySEC”.