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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 00-08-23
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
Wednesday, 23 August 2000
CONTENTS
- [01] Acting President expresses his condolences to the Russian Ambassador
in Cyprus
- [02] Cyprus has stringent legislation to oversee and control attempts for
money laundering, says Minister of Finance
[01] Acting President expresses his condolences to the Russian Ambassador
in Cyprus
Acting President of the Republic , President of the House of Representatives,
Mr Spyros Kyprianou expressed yesterday his "deepest sympathy" for the
tragic loss of the 118 sailors as a result of the sinking of the Russian
nuclear submarine Kursk.
Mr Kyprianou signed the condolences book for the 118 victims of the Russian
submarine "Kursk", at the Russian Embassy in Nicosia.
Speaking at the Russian Embassy,Mr Kyprianou said he visited Russian
Ambassador, Vladimir Pavlinov, to express the "deep regret" of the Cyprus
people and his own "for the great tragedy that struck Russia and the
Russian people".
Moreover Mr Kyprianou, in his capacity as President of the House of
Representatives, sent a message of condolences to the Speaker of the
Russian State Duma Mr Guennadi Seleznev, expressing "on behalf of the
members of the Cyprus House of Representatives and myself, feelings of deep
sorrow and immense regret for the tragic loss of life during the unfortunate
incident that has struck the Russian Navy".
[02] Cyprus has stringent legislation to oversee and control attempts for
money laundering, says Minister of Finance
The Minister of Finance, Mr Takis Klerides, has denied a Sunday Times
report on 20 August alleging that money laundering activities had taken
place in Cyprus.
He said the report basically referred to differences between two Yugoslav
businessmen and clarified that Cyprus had stringent laws and equally
stringent monitoring organs which ensured that the relevant provisions of
the law were enforced. International organisations considered Cyprus as one
of the countries with legislation on the issue that was fully satisfactory.
The Unit for Combating Money Laundering as well as the Central Bank and
Ministry of Finance were determined to maintain the strict measures and
monitoring so that Cyprus preserved and even increased its prestige and
good name, he said.
Asked why foreign governments and media exhibited excessive sensitivity
from time to time about the issue, considering that international
organisations had confirmed Cyprus' credibility, Mr Klerides said this was
precisely what the Government had asked itself. It wondered why every now
and again large circulation newspapers abroad made hints against Cyprus and
certain other specific countries. Mr Klerides believed the objective of
these reports had nothing to do with the issue. He said that with these
kinds of reports cropping up every now and again, journalists endangered
their own credibility.
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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