An announcement was issued by the Audit Office in relation to Decisions of the Council of Ministers taken after 18.8.2020, for the granting of Cypriot citizenship within the framework of the Cyprus Investment Program.
Specifically, in response to today's statements of the Government Spokesperson, the Audit Office notes in the announcement the following:
(a) The five persons associated with Ayia Napa Marina applied for naturalization in April and May 2019 and it was approved by the Council of Ministers on 21.8.2020. Both at the date of submission and at the date of approval of the applications, the applicable criteria required that the applicant be a senior executive and have such remuneration as to generate tax revenue for the Republic of € 100.000 over a three-year period. None of the five met this criterion as they had no income in the Republic. Therefore, since the specific criterion was always the same and the applicants never met it, naturalization was illegal. This finding is already recorded in our Report for the Ministry of Tourism. In order to reach this finding, it was not necessary to seek any legal advice, especially since the facts are such that no doubt arises on the subject.
(b) It is known that every body of administration interprets and applies the law in the exercise of its responsibilities. For example, a Tender Board interprets and implements public procurement law to decide whether to accept or reject a tender. Similarly, an Urban Planning Authority, in order to decide whether or not to issue a planning permission, interprets and applies the relevant legislation. In doing so, these bodies are not considered to be giving opinions or providing legal advice to themselves. They are simply exercising their statutory responsibilities
Thus, the Audit Office never gives opinions or legal advice to audited bodies. All that the Audit Office does is to properly interpret the legal framework which it uses as an audit criterion in cases of compliance audits, in order to reach safe conclusions. The relevant international standards allow an Audit Office to be consulted by experts (such as a legal advisor), but it is clear that the sole responsibility for the accuracy of the report rests with the Audit Office.
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(c) In this context, if, in examining the 221 cases, the Audit Office considers that in any case issues arise for which it would be necessary or useful to seek legal or other advice, it will do so, always applying the relevant auditing standards. . And in the end it will be judged by the Report which it will publish.
It is clarified that the fact that the 221 persons were naturalized without the application of the new Regulations, will obviously be subject to control and our findings on the subject will be included in the Report to be issued. All we have done so far is to record the following as a fact:
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The five illegally naturalized persons associated with the Ayia Napa Marina submitted their application in April and May 2019 but, at their own risk, completed their application details in June 2020. Their naturalization took place without delay, but rather with excessive speed, 2,5 months later, but ignoring the current legal framework resulting in the loss of a total amount of € 1m. from public funds. These are facts and not legal advice or opinions.
2. We will insist on maintaining a high level of public debate and therefore, once again, we will not respond to the Government Representative's disparaging remarks about the Auditor General and our Service.