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Roundup: ECB's Draghi intervenes on behalf of Cyprus central bank governor

Xinhua, June 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi has intervened on behalf of the governor of Cyprus' Central Bank (CBC) Chrystalla Georghadji demanding explanations on a police probe involving her, the government spokesman said on Saturday.

"Mr. Draghi addressed a letter to President Anastasiades on the issue on June 1 and the President replied on June 3," said spokesman Nicos Christodoulides.

Georghadji is being investigated by the police after a parliamentary deputy complained that she had asked commercial banks to supply her with a list of lawmakers who had non-performing loans. The list was leaked to the press causing uproar.

Georghadji is a member of the governing board of the ECB.

Politis newspaper reported on Saturday that Draghi had both demanded explanations on the affair and also asked for the return of documents and copies of computer hard disks taken by the police during a search of Georghadji's office.

That was the second time that Draghi intervened on behalf of a Central Bank of Cyprus governor.

A few days after Cyprus was bailed out by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund in March 2013, Draghi demanded an end to a procedure for the dismissal of then CBC governor Panicos Demetriades who was accused of withholding information crucial to the outcome of the bailout negotiations.

Demetriades resigned a few months later after receiving compensation.

Christodoulides said that Anastasiades replied to the latest Draghi letter telling him that under Cyprus' constitution there is an absolute separation of powers preventing him from interfering in the workings of either the legislative branch of the judiciary.

"The President told Draghi that he had no involvement whatsoever in the case," the spokesman said.

But he added that Anastasiades promised to pass Draghi's letter on to the competent authorities, also asking them to provide information as to the state of affairs regarding the case.

Georghadji is the subject of a separate probe by the parliamentary ethics committee after allegations that she had unilaterally altered the provisions of her contract of employment pertaining to her remuneration before signing it and returning it to Anastasiades for his signature.

She was also alleged to have scrapped a clause banning her first degree relatives from dealing in any way with affairs connected with the Central Bank operations.

After her appointment it was revealed that her daughter was employed by a law office founded and run by her father, Georghadji's estranged husband, which at the time represented a former CEO of the now defunct Laiki Bank in his dispute with the Central Bank over the winding down of the bank, as part of Cyprus' 2013 bailout.

The House committee said on Friday that it has completed its investigation, with all of its members being in agreement on the facts and is now in the process of drafting its conclusions.

In a parallel move and based on the same facts, President Anastasiades has asked the Attorney General to initiate a procedure at the Supreme Court to have Georghadji removed from office. Endit