Under threat of indictment, the football clubs with the largest debts sat down with the tax commissioner on Tuesday, apparently getting a reprieve until the end of March.

The one-hour meeting featured Tax Commissioner Sotiris Markides, and the heads of the five biggest tax debtors in football – Apoel, AEL, Apollon, Anorthosis and Ethnikos.

The club bosses left the meeting without speaking to the media. Likewise Markides, when contacted by the Cyprus News Agency, declined comment.

However CNA later said it was agreed that tax authorities would not press criminal charges until the end of March.

The five clubs had met Markides on January 22. There, they had made a counter proposal: to immediately pay back to the state one-third of their tax dues, start paying instalments, and in exchange the prior debt repayment deal would be kept in place.

Amid all this, tax authorities have already drafted indictments for four of the clubs – Apoel, AEL, Apollon and Anorthosis – which collectively owe €25.6 million in taxes.

According to daily Politis, the charge sheets include more than 100 individuals, including well-known businesspeople and four politicians. The newspaper named the politicians as Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou (a former director of Apoel), former agriculture minister Nicos Kouyialis (currently a vice-chairman of Apoel), Nicosia mayor Charalambos Prountzos, and former MP Evgenios Hamboullas.

But the Tax Department had held off on filing the charge sheets with the courts. Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, Politis said authorities had decided to give the tax offenders a little more latitude to make good on their debt obligations – until the end of March.

By then, the clubs must have settled their debt instalments that are in arrears and have accumulated over the past two years. If they do, they will get re-enrolled into the debt repayment scheme – of which they have run afoul.

President Nikos Christodoulides has faced considerable pressure not to green-light criminal prosecutions. Apoel fans have publicly threatened to ‘blacklist’ him in the next presidential elections – should Christodoulides run for office again. Similar warnings have come from other club fans.

Nicosia club Apoel is by far the biggest offender, owing €11.6 million. Next up are AEL with €5 million, Apollon €4.8 million, and Anorthosis €4.2 million.

Media reports said that at Tuesday’s meeting, the tax commissioner would inform the club chairmen of the offer to push back payment of the overdue instalments to the end of March. Presumably this would be sufficient to get back on track the debt repayment scheme agreed in 2023.

Under this quick fix, the overdue instalments for the four clubs total €5.35 million.

During the prior meeting with Markides in January, the four clubs had offered to pay €500,000 as a lump sum, with the rest to come in instalments. The tax commissioner reportedly rejected this, and asked for at least half of the €5.35 million to be paid upfront. Apparently the clubs did not have the cash flow to comply – which necessitated a follow-up meeting for more negotiations.

Under the debt repayment scheme, approved by the cabinet in May 2023, the clubs would repay their tax arrears in 168 monthly instalments, pay back current dues arising after April 1, 2023, and file all necessary tax returns.

Also at stake for the clubs – other than possible indictments – is their participation in lucrative European competitions. Should they somehow manage to meet their minimum obligations toward the debt repayment scheme, they would get the required compliance approval from the finance ministry in May, allowing them to participate in these tournaments.