Dismissing two lawsuits filed against the Republic in relation to cases related to the impairment of deposits at Laiki Bank in 2013, the District Court of Famagusta proceeded, which in November 2023 issued two Decisions on corresponding cases, rejecting any responsibility of the Republic of Cyprus for banking supervision issues as well as any liability for bank failures.
The first decision of the Court dated November 14, 2023, concerns the rejection of a lawsuit filed by a company against the Republic in relation to the loss of securities and the impairment of deposits at Laiki Bank in 2013. The lawsuit was initially registered against Laiki Bank, the Bank of Cyprus, of the Central Bank of Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus. During the development of the case, the plaintiff company unconditionally withdrew the action against all the defendants, except the Republic of Cyprus.
In its Decision, the Court, rejecting the company's claims, states, among other things, that "[…] inevitably leads to its rejection since there is no reliable testimony before the Court from which to draw the conclusion that the Republic was aware of the illegal or irregular manner of disposal of the securities and allowed it, or that he did not take the appropriate measures to control or ensure that the methods applied during the disposal of the securities were within the framework of the relevant Laws or European Directives as well as that he did not exercise sufficient supervision at Laiki Bank. [...]"
The Court rejected all the claims of the plaintiff company, dismissed the action and awarded costs in favor of the Republic.
The second decision of the Judgment of the Court was issued on November 20, 2023 and concerns the rejection of a lawsuit filed by a company against the Republic in relation to the impairment of deposits at Laiki Bank in 2013. The lawsuit was initially registered against Laiki Bank, the Bank of Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus. During the development of the case, the plaintiff company unconditionally withdrew the action against all the defendants, except the Republic of Cyprus. The plaintiff company's claim was based on allegations of negligence in relation to acts and omissions of the Republic, the Central Bank of Cyprus and the Capital Market Commission, as well as allegations of infringement of the plaintiff company's property rights.
Both the allegations regarding the matter of negligence and the responsibility of the Republic for the acts and/or omissions of the Central Bank of Cyprus and the Capital Market Commission were rejected, with the Court explaining that the Supervisory Authorities are independent Authorities, which are not supervision by the Republic. With reference to the right to property, the Court, citing a previous Court decision, stated that: "[…] the measures do not constitute an excessive and unacceptable interference affecting the very essence of the right to property...".
The Court rejected all the claims of the plaintiff company, dismissed the action and awarded costs in favor of the Republic.
On behalf of the Attorney General of the Republic, the first case was handled by the Attorney General of the Republic Mrs. Theano Mavromoustakis and Mr. Markos Economou, Lawyer, and the second by Mr. Markos Economou, Lawyer.