They withdrew € 3,5 billion before the deposit cut

The Central Bank refuses to provide information to the Parliament on the outflows of funds during the closed period between 15 and 27 March 2013, resulting in harsh criticism from MPs. The chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Institutions, Nikos Nikolaidis, after the end of the meeting of the Committee stated that the Central Bank will be asked to submit full details again for the entire period under consideration.

He added that the Central Bank refused to provide information to the Tax Officer on the outflow of deposits, in order to be able to then control the tax arrangements. He also said that the Central Bank has not proceeded with a substantial processing of the data, other than the one it had done 16 months ago, pointing out that there is an "unacceptable blackout" on the issue.

Tax Superintendent Giannakis Lazarou, admitted that the Department last requested data on outflows from the Central on 9 and 19 May 2013, receiving, as claimed, a negative response. The Central Bank had reported that the only data held by the Tax Department concerned the outflows from March 1 to March 15, ie the period before the haircut. The Tax Officer analyzed the withdrawals from Laiki Bank and Bank of Cyprus during the period before the closed period, namely from March 1 to March 15, 2013.

According to the data quoted by Mr. Lazarou, it seems that during this period about € 3,5 billion had left only from the two banks, Laiki Bank and Bank of Cyprus. As Mr. Lazarou stated, when asked to comment on why the Tax Department did not proceed with the analysis and submission of data for the closed period, the Central Bank refused to provide any data, citing confidentiality.

It is worth noting that the meeting of the Committee on Institutions was attended by a representative of the Central Bank who, clarifying that she is not fully competent or fully aware of the issue, pointed out that all the information has been given. The Superintendent stated that € 702 million in deposits were withdrawn by 449 companies from the former Laiki Bank. He noted that 110 legal entities out of a total of 449 withdrew deposits amounting to € 568 million.

By 2013, only 67 companies out of 110 had filed tax returns, adding that the outflows of six companies amounting to € 152 million were justified. Regarding the individuals related to outflows in Laiki Bank, Mr. Lazarou stated that 20 persons withdrew deposits of € 11 million in the same period. Regarding the outflows to the Bank of Cyprus, he said that an audit revealed that 152 companies on the list are not residents of Cyprus.

He said that 1.264 legal entities withdrew deposits of € 1,6 billion, of which 314 had withdrawals of deposits over € 1 million.

Source: Liberal