10 April 2017

Following extensive reports in the press regarding the intervention of the Attorney General and the CBC to avoid any discussion in Parliament regarding the FBME issue we would like to make the following observations:

1. The AG and the Governor are very sensitive to avoid any discussion regarding the disastrous handling – by them – of the FBME matter. That is (on the part of the CBC at least) understandable, since their wish to avoid scrutiny for the debacle is more than obvious.
2. What is less understandable is their justification of confidentiality, especially when they (and their appointed SA) have been selectively leaking one sided and prejudiced confidential information, most notably to Stelios Orphanides of the Cyprus Mail.
3. Given that the leaking of confidential information by the CBC and their appointed representatives – see SA – is a punishable breach of both the Resolution Law and the Business of Credit Institutions Law we wait to see if the sensitivity of the AG and the Governor will extend to the performance of an independent inquiry into these leak, as well as to the various press conferences/announcements made by the SA and CBC officials in the press.
4. The AG has been supporting the CBC under pretext of the international arbitration against the Republic. We ask: is it not the right of all persons to seek their rights in court? And isn’t the duty of his office to reveal and castigate abuse of power by public office holders that are the cause of these actions against the republic? Does the AG take the same position against, for example, a local authority which inappropriately compulsory appropriated the land of a person? Shouldn’t that person seek protection in Court, and won’t, in that case, the AG investigate the conduct of the authority in question?
5. Of course the AG has never been especially sensitive when it comes to FBME. Complaints of abuse of authority, illegal charging of vat on already exorbitant fees and defacement of the bank seal, not to mention the embezzlement of bank funds by previous and present administrators which have been reported to him, have remained without even an acknowledgement.
6. It is also worth noting that CBC and its minions have been in control of FBME for two years and 9 months. In all of that time CBC has spent the depositor’s money lavishly but has not provided any accounting for in respect of the funds it has handled. It is high time CBC and it SAs provided and explained this accounting.
7. Instead a slander campaign against FBME, its owners and the Tanzanian authorities has been put in place. We hope, rather than expect that even at this stage the Cypriot authorities and the AG will finally begin treating this as what it is, rather than what the CBC is telling them it is.
8. We ask everyone to consider: in the last 5 years who has really supported the Cypriot economy with the purchase of government bonds at the hour of crisis and the keeping on of staff in employment? And who has acted against the elected government and ruined the economy with unilateral actions whilst dismissing 200 members of staff? Whilst thousand of accounts have been closed in other local banks not one account has been closed at FBME and a comparative huge fine and punishment has been imposed on FBME.
9. Sometime the lies must end.

FBME Bank LTD.