The Anti-Corruption Committee is investigating 12 complaints from Cypriot residents.

Since the independent Anti-Corruption Committee was set up, Cypriots have submitted 330 complaints for its consideration, a quarter of which were received anonymously.

This was announced recently by the Commissioner for Transparency, Haris Poyadjis.

He said that the agency was doing its best to speed up the process of examining the complaints received. Interestingly, 90% of the complaints submitted by Cypriot citizens are rejected at the preliminary stage due to insufficient evidence of corruption. According to Poyadjis, inspectors carry out thorough checks on the remaining applications. Some 12 investigations are currently underway and the results will be announced soon.

The commissioner said that the high percentage of rejected complaints is due to the fact that many Cypriot citizens do not know the exact definition of what constitutes a corruption offence. However, he assured that no complaint would be left without due attention. Poyadjis said that complaints could be made in person or anonymously online. He also assured that those who seek help will not be subjected to further harassment by the administration. Section 18 of the law prohibits the publication of any information obtained as part of the committee's mandate. Only the Commissioner for Transparency can authorise the publication of information.

It is recalled that the Anti-Corruption Committee is composed of:

1. Haris Poyadjis - head of the agency, formerly a judge, has a law degree from the University of Exeter (England);
2. Mihail Konstantinidis - former Director General of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Queen Mary University of London and a Master's degree in the same field from the University of Minnesota;
3. Eleni Patera-Dimosfenous is a lawyer and a graduate of the Law Faculty of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens;
4. Nikos Zambakidis - Chartered Accountant, former General Manager of the Nicosia Sewerage Authority;
5. Tatiana Zachariadou is a sociologist and a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany and the University of Indianapolis.

The problem of corruption has plagued Cyprus throughout its history as an independent republic.

Cyprus tops the list of countries whose populations are frequently confronted with cases of corruption and bribery. The government of the island nation does not deny that it is responsible for the situation. But for reasons that remain unclear, it has until recently made no concrete attempts to radically improve the situation. The catalyst was the scandal surrounding the Cyprus Investment Programme. The Al Jazeera investigation led to the resignation of a number of senior officials in Cyprus.

One of the most important consequences of the scandal was the establishment of an independent Anti-Corruption Committee of Cyprus in May 2022, to which the people of the island can complain directly. This can also be done anonymously. There are currently five ways to lodge 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 prepared to give their name and surname, and for those who wish to provide information anonymously).
2. Print the form, complete it and email it to complaints@iaac.org.cy.
3. Fax the completed form to 22-756414.
4. Post the completed form to Office of the Commissioner for Transparency, Markou Drakou 10, 5th floor, 1040 Nicosia, Cyprus, P.O. 29035, 1620 Nicosia, Cyprus.
5. Drop it in the complaints box at the office of the Anti-Corruption Committee in Nicosia.