The Anti-Corruption Committee Received 138 Complaints from Cyprus Residents

Despite the government's best efforts, corruption remains a serious problem for Cypriot society.

This is evidenced by the data of the independent Anti-Corruption Committee.

In particular, since the establishment of the new agency, Cypriot residents have filed 138 complaints. Of these: 29 were satisfied and 109 are under consideration. Interestingly, only 28 complaints came to the committee with the names of the victims. The remaining 110 people wished to remain anonymous.

Recall that the problem of corruption has haunted Cyprus throughout the history of the independent Republic. By the way, Cyprus is among the leaders in the ranking of countries whose population is often faced with cases of corruption and bribery. The government of the island state does not deny that it is responsible for the situation. However, for unknown reasons, until recently it did not make any concrete attempts to radically correct the situation. The impetus was the scandal around the Cyprus investment program. The Al Jazeera investigation led to the resignation of a number of high-ranking officials in Cyprus.

One of the main consequences of the scandal was also the establishment in May 2022 of an independent Anti-Corruption Committee of Cyprus, to which residents of the island can complain directly. Moreover, it can be done anonymously. To date, there are five ways to file a complaint:

1. Fill in the electronic complaint form available at www.iaac.org.cy (There are two types of forms: for those who are willing to give their name and surname, and for those who provide information anonymously).
2. Print the form, fill it out, and email it to complaints@iaac.org.cy.
3. Fax the completed form to 22-756414.
4. Mail the completed form to the Office of the Transparency Commissioner, Markou Drakou 10, 5th floor, 1040 Nicosia, Cyprus, P.O. 29035, 1620 Nicosia, Cyprus, P.O. 29035, 1620 Nicosia.
5. Drop the application in the complaints box at the office of the Anti-Corruption Committee in Nicosia.

The new body consists of five persons (including the Commissioner for Transparency) appointed for a term of 6 years without the possibility of re-election. A special Advisory Council has been set up to select candidates for the relevant positions, ensuring that applicants for each vacant position are nominated from among persons who:

1. have not held the position of Minister or Deputy Minister during the term of the incumbent,
2. have not, within the last two years, held the position of Minister, Deputy Minister, Member of Parliament, Member of the European Parliament, civil service, police service, fire department, military service, positions in local self-government bodies, educational organizations, organizations established in the public interest, and have not held a party position.