A travel agent who went bankrupt this summer appears to have conned customers, drawing them in despite knowing the business was going under, MPs heard on Tuesday.

The case concerns the travel agency Efi Strakottou Travel & Tours Limited, which in August notified that it was unable to meet its financial obligations – it went bust.

In September, the Consumer Protection Service (commerce ministry) put out a statement advising consumers that the travel agent in question was insolvent, calling on any affected customers to apply for compensation by October 24.

An official with the government service told MPs that, to date, they have no clear picture as to the number of burned customers or the amounts they paid, as the process is still ongoing.

From information heard at the House commerce committee, the business appears to have been insured up to €12,000 – corresponding to the 20 per cent of turnover it had declared to the Association of Cyprus Travel & Tourism Agents (Actta).

Actta is the designated regulator for travel and tourism agents.

But Marios Droushiotis, of the consumers association, said the real figures are in fact available: a total of 228 customers were impacted, altogether paying the travel agent €103,000 to purchase various packages.

Droushiotis criticised both Actta and the Consumer Protection Service for negligent monitoring, saying that unless the affected punters are compensated his association would take legal action.

He recalled that he had warned of such risks as far back as 2019, when a similar incident occurred – at the time, an even worse one.

Christos Christou, the Actta vice-chairman, noted that agents must submit a turnover forecast based on the sale of travel packages. The coverage, in the event a business goes under, amounts to 20 per cent of the declared turnover.

In this particular case, the travel agent had declared 60,000 in turnover – whereas the complaints from customers left in the lurch concern an amount over €100,000.

Christou spoke of “fraud” on the part of the travel agent.

He said the business had deceived customers to get their money, raising its turnover shortly before it declared insolvency.

Coming back, the Consumer Protection Service said that gaps in the relevant legislation had been noticed two years ago.

Greens MP Stavros Papadouris – who tabled the matter for discussion – called for identifying the travel agent’s accountant who signed off on the apparently fraudulent €60,000 turnover.