200,000 pounds gone from Cyprus embassy in Sweden

Diplomatic scandal

THE Foreign Minister has asked for a criminal investigation into the embezzlement of Θ200,000 from the Cyprus Embassy in Sweden, it was officially announced yesterday.

According to reliable information, the missing money was being handled by local clerical staff, most probably a Cypriot employed on a contractual basis by the embassy.

The Cyprus Weekly spoke over the telephone with Ambassador Pavlos Anastassiades, in Stockholm, who declined to divulge any information beyond the official announcement in Nicosia.

Asked if the affair would in any serious way hamper the work of the Embassy, Anastassiades said they were doing their best to carry on as usual.

He hoped the matter would be cleared up as soon as possible.

According to the official announcement, the Foreign Ministry has informed the Chief of Police about the case and asked for a criminal investigator to be appointed. The missing money came mainly from local payments to the embassy over a certain period and the embezzlement was detected during internal embassy checks.

The speed with which the Foreign Ministry has acted and the publication of the affair show concern over the image of the Cyprus diplomatic service, which in recent years has been exposed to reports about financial and other misconduct in some of its representations abroad.

The Auditor General, Chrystalla Georghadji, has also been notified about.