Police on Friday are continuing investigations into the mystifying incident of a child who showed up at school with an alleged amount of €15,000 in cash and began distributing it to various classmates.

The exact amount has not been verified as the whole sum has yet to be accounted for, and neither has its source been determined.

The incident unfolded among Year 1 students in a Nicosia gymnasium on October 30, state broadcaster CyBC reported and was brought to the attention of the police the following day.

According to the latest reports, a parent of the student in question allegedly told police that the cash was theirs and wanted it returned.

Two siblings were involved in the incident, with one allegedly claiming they had taken the money from the other, and were handing it out to get rid of it, out of fear for their sibling being in possession of the cash, Loizos Constantinou, head of the organised parents federation told CyBC.

Adults were alerted after a teacher was shown a €100 bill and took it to the school administration. The bill had since been secured as evidence by the police and the case rests with them, he said.

“The school itself handled the situation impeccably, they could not have done more,” he added.

The parent of a child who had been given €500 speaking to Alpha News on Thursday, said he had told his child to return the money, whereupon his child revealed that others had also received large sums of cash.

He conveyed the information to the school which then called on pupils who had received cash to turn it in.

Staff and parents had initially been confused and incredulous over the whole affair thinking the matter was a practical joke involving fake bills.

Once some bills were returned and it became known that some students had managed to buy items, such as clothing, with the cash, the seriousness of the situation became clear, Constantinou said.

The headmistress immediately notified the ministry of education and called the police to the scene.

According to Alpha News, one classmate was given as much as €3,500 and planned to use it to buy a motorcycle, while others received smaller amounts.

Most of the cash was in €100 notes that looked “crisp” Constantinou, who had seen the money, also said.

Statements have been taken from students, parents and educational staff, police spokeswoman Marina Christodoulidou told the Cyprus News Agency, adding that as minors were involved the case is being handled with the appropriate sensitivity.

Questions have been raised over whether the welfare authorities ought to also be implicated.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing.