The former Minister of Interior spoke to SIGMA about the investment program of naturalizations, the involvement of State and Church officials, the role of banks, the Auditor General and his relationship with the President. Socrates Hasikos, torrent as always spoke to Giannis Kareklas and in the show Without Rotations for everyone and everything.
The deposit in the Research for naturalizations
The discussion opened with the testimony of Mr. Hasikos before the Commission of Inquiry into the naturalizations, with the former minister noting that he could answer more questions than he had time to answer.
"I answered what I remembered. I could accept more questions. I could also give more answers. "In a deposit of about three hours, it was not easy for depositors to remember everything, when in fact four years have passed since I left the Ministry," he said.
"It simply came to our notice then. You can not know everything, especially in a large Ministry like the Ministry of Interior. Naturalization was not my only concern. There were many other issues to deal with, especially in a time of crisis. Incentives had to be given to Urban Planning, Land Registries, Local Government and more. "Again, it was good that I remembered what I remembered after so many years", said Mr. Hasikos.
He added that the government took over the government in a difficult economic period and drastic measures had to be taken. "We took over the government under very difficult economic conditions. We received a country dominated by economy, unemployment was high so we had to take immediate measures to help the state economy and the economy of the citizens. The deficit of the Eurogroup that we had to cover was then 5,7 billion. After a hard negotiation of the President we managed to make a decision with 9.99% on the uninsured deposits it would end. Unfortunately the parliament decided to say no and we were led to the 47.5% haircut with all the consequences we had. We had to take drastic measures. The naturalization program existed. "
According to the former Minister, the program was a way to bring money directly to the country. "Money had to come immediately. 9.5 billion entered the economy, entered the market. From these the state took very little, in the form of fees, all the rest entered the country's economy. The mason, the moldmaker, the contractor, the accountant, the lawyer and others took it. To tell the truth, it was the most direct way for money to flow into the market, to enter the banks, for the market to work ".
Mr. Hasikos admitted that, from this money, some people took more than they were entitled to, while he apologized for the mistakes he could have made.
"There were cases where mistakes were made. Another mistake and another I open the door for a swindler to come. Some deceived the state. The role of the Ministry of Interior was incumbent. In terms of financial criteria it was more the job of the Ministry of Finance, in terms of the purity of the person receiving the naturalization it was the job of the Police. "The responsibility for all this was mine. I was the political leader, I took the proposal to the Ministry and I apologize for my mistakes, but on the other hand, this is how the system worked," he explained.
What was missing from the program, according to Mr. Hasikos, were the regulations.
"We have never admitted that we are doing something illegal. Another mistake and another illegality. Whatever we did, we did according to the decisions of the Minister. There was consultation with the European Union. "Where things got out of hand was after Al Chazira," said Mr. Hasikos.
Lawyers, accountants, Joe Lo and the Archbishop
Commenting on the practices used for naturalizations, the former interior minister said that greed led to these situations.
"I do not fear anyone but God. I have no right to say names. The Minister has no obligation to accept the lawyer, the accountant. They pressed and it does not matter if they pressed but if the Minister succumbed and I tell you that I did not succumb. Every irrelevant person came to my office. Everyone who did this work had the right to come. "One day I gathered everyone and warned them about the abuses and told them that I do not turn my back on any swindler," he explained.
Asked if there were investors or intermediaries who deceived him, Mr. Hasikos answered in the affirmative. "Of course there were some who fooled the system, who said others."
Regarding the case of the Malaysian, Joe Lo, Mr. Hasikos clarified that in no case did he listen to the Archbishop to give the naturalization. "It was stated by various that the Archbishop sent a letter to Hasikos and the next day he received the naturalization. It took two months or so for Lo's naturalization to be approved.
I received the letter from the Archbishop because it was in his own interest. We had checked the Malaysian as in all cases. The problem was money. Bank of Cyprus replied that his money was clean. "When we gave him the passport, the Bank complained to MOKAS about his money," he said.
DIKO
Asked about the opposition and its reports against the government, Mr. Hasikos said that after the Joe Lo case, the Democratic Party sent a letter to the Minister of Finance asking for hastened applications in the context of naturalization with the excuse that we will get 7,5 from them. billions.
"Who is making fun of whom? As long as the system worked and we all got it. "Everyone in Cyprus ate, yes, they ate more," he said.
The Auditor General
Regarding the reports of the Auditor General, Odysseas Michailidis, the former Minister of Interior said that he had called him to complain about embezzlement of public money.
"I had told Odysseus about his official who came to the Ministry and I asked him if he was looking for something specific. He came and checked. In fact, he checked Wargaming and saw that he had a problem, but he never made a report on these checks ".
Mr. Hasikos clarified that he never questioned the right of control. "It must be done correctly, people should not be dragged away and the Auditor General's mistake in my opinion has always been this. He dragged people and personalities through frivolous findings, audits that were not completed, he gave the names to the public and one of them was right, they never heard the Auditor General apologize ".
According to Mr. Hasikos, what the Auditor General is doing smells like elections.
The starters and the relations with the PD
Asked if he received a supply from the arms market when he was Minister of Defense, Mr. Hasikos replied that this is "nonsense. I have been in politics for years, I have clashed with so many that if there was something, everyone would know. "
Finally, Mr. Hasikos spoke about his relations with the President of the Republic and said that their relations have always been good regardless of whether I am there or not, while when asked if he sees a gap between the DISY leadership and the President, he said that the President was left alone.
"While the President is being attacked from everywhere, it seems that there is no guard to support him. I start with his Ministers and go to the party. It is impossible not to support him. "Everyone should have been alerted, to support the President."
Watch the interview of Socrates Hasikos, HERE.
Source: Sigmalive