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Friday, May 24, 2013
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Cyprus angry over ‘troika distortion’ Summary paper on ‘dirty money’ drew inferences that did not exist CBC says By George Psyllides
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YPRUS yesterday accused the troika of distorting information in a document purportedly summarising the island’s status vis a vis anti-money laundering (AML) measures by “drawing inferences” where none existed in the original reports. The original four-page summary, based on audits by the Council of Europe’s money-laundering watchdog Moneyval and by private auditors Deloitte, had been drawn up by international lenders prior to a Eurogoup meeting on May 13 to approve the first tranche of the island’s €10 billion bailout programme. Yesterday the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) said the summary did not give a synopsis of the main findings “but rather a description of the perceived weaknesses of the system, drawing inferences where none exist in the original reports.” “The lack of consultation with the authors of the reports and the failure to refer to any of the positive aspects mentioned therein, has resulted in erroneous and distorted conclusions in the media, especially the international press,” the CBC said in a statement. “A summary of the reports cannot be considered balanced if it omits to mention that they reveal a number of strengths both in the Cypriot AML
framework and in the effective implementation of customer due diligence by Cypriot banks.” The CBC said the authorities were in the process of providing a detailed response to the troika as well as to the Eurogroup. An independent audit of Cyprus’ implementation of AML measures was set as a precondition for an international bailout. Cyprus initially resisted the idea, arguing it had already been cleared in a prior assessment by Moneyval. The government later backed down and agreed to a fresh review, one by Moneyval and a parallel one by private auditor Deloitte. The summary said that between 2008 and 2010, Cypriot banks reported not a single suspicious transaction under antimoney laundering regulations, and flagged only one in 2011 and “a few” in 2012. This despite Deloitte’s forensic analysis of sample customer transactions during its short investigation, identifying 29 potentially suspicious transactions during the last 12 months, none of which were reported by the Cypriot banks. However, the summary had failed to mention that the 29 potentially suspicious cases had been identified in an analysis of some 590,000 transactions, the CBC said in its statement.
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President Nicos Anastasiades (left) with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso at their joint news conference in Brussels yesterday. Barroso said all available resources would be mobilised to help Cyprus STORY PAGE 5
Remains of Richard III found in an untidy grave THE remains of King Richard III, which were discovered under a city car park, were found in a hastily dug, untidy grave, researchers have revealed. Academics from the University of Leicester said the bones of the last Plantagenet king were placed in an odd position and the torso crammed in. He was casually placed in a badly-prepared grave, suggesting gravediggers were in a hurry to bury him or had little respect for the murdered king. The lozenge-shaped grave was too short to contain the body conventionally, and there is evidence to suggest his hands might have been tied when he was buried.
Researchers said someone is likely to have stood in the grave to receive the body, suggested by the fact the body is on one side rather than placed centrally. The findings were revealed as University of Leicester archaeologists published the first peer-reviewed paper on the university-led archaeological Search for Richard III in the journal Antiquity. It comes after the announcement in February that archaeologists had discovered the monarch’s remains. It followed a three-week dig started in August at what was once the medieval Grey Friars church in Leicester - now a Leicester City Council car park.
There were no signs of a shroud or coffin in Richard III’s grave, in stark contrast to other medieval graves found in the town which were the correct length and were dug neatly with vertical sides, academics said. This is in keeping with accounts from the medieval historian Polydore Vergil, who said Richard III was buried “without any pomp or solemn funeral”. The academic paper by the University of Leicester Archaeological Services, School of Archaeology and Ancient History, and Department of Genetics, is called “The king in the car park: new light on the death and burial of Richard III in the Grey Friars church, Leicester, in 1485”.