The House’s special committee on the law mandating public officials to declare their wealth and income (pothen esches) has requested an opinion on whether a criminal offence was committed after a former minister in the Christodoulides government failed to declare millions in his asset statements.

According to Politis, the omission was uncovered during an audit carried out after the minister left office, under law that came into force in January placing responsibility for reviewing ‘pothen esches’ declarations with the tax department for the first time.

Under the new bill, failing to declare assets constitutes a criminal offence, raising the question of whether the former minister should face prosecution.

The tax department informed the House committee of the case, which is chaired by House Speaker, Annita Demetriou, and includes Disy MP Demetris Demetriou, Akel MP Giorgos Loukaides, Elam MP Linos Papayiannis as well as Diko MP Panikos Leonidou.

Under current rules, the committee is required to inform Attorney General George Savvides so that possible criminal prosecution can be examined.

According to information reported by Politis, the assets in question were established to have been in his possession before his appointment as minister.

He is, however, being examined for possible tax evasion in connection with the undeclared amount, which has been variously reported as between €2 million and €4 million.

Politis also reported that the former minister voluntarily submitted an updated asset declaration for this year in April, after the tax department informed him that his bank accounts had not been included in his 2023 declaration.

A corresponding update was also made to his 2023 declaration at that time.

Following this, the parliamentary committee requested an opinion on whether the earlier failure to declare assets held in Cyprus and abroad amounted to a criminal offence.

The former minister has not been named at the time of publishing for Politis said the individual’s identity would be made public once his explanation for the omission is received.