Correspondence between Taxan representatives and bank officials contradicts statements made by former EDEK party leader and current MP Marinos Sizopoulos regarding his role in the controversial Taxan loan case.
The documents, obtained by Phileleftheros, reveal that Taxan shareholders told the bank the company shares were sold to an Iraqi investor for €1.6 million – the false sale price identified by the Independent Authority Against Corruption in its damning report against the MP and his former business partners.
The correspondence also shows that Sizopoulos, classified as a Politically Exposed Person, played an active role in contacts with the bank regarding debt settlement negotiations.
Bank emails show false sale price communicated to lender
The revelations cast serious doubt on Sizopoulos’s statements during Thursday morning’s “First Information” programme on Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, where he claimed the bank received the sale document showing the actual sale price of €2.025 million and that he had not consulted with the bank.
On 22nd September 2017, one month before the final debt settlement agreement, a bank official from the corporate debt recovery department sent an email clearly stating that Taxan shareholders had presented the position that shares were sold for €1.6 million.
The bank official also referenced a telephone contact between Sizopoulos and a bank director responsible for corporate debt recovery in specific Cyprus cities during the disputed period.
MP signed confidential agreement with financial institution
The email states, “Please provide us with a copy of the passport of the investor in question. Please clarify the issue of the sale price. If the total amount is €1.6 million (as you mention), where will the additional amount of €25,000 come from, totalling €1.625 million to settle Taxan’s obligations, which was mentioned in Mr Sizopoulos’s telephone communication?”.
Documents show that on 25th October 2017, one month after the email, a debt settlement agreement was signed based on the €1.6 million amount.
The confidential agreement between Taxan shareholders and the bank bears Sizopoulos’s signature and initials in a prominent position.
Anti-corruption authority found evidence of potential fraud
During Thursday’s broadcast, Sizopoulos stated: “So the bank knew that the sale was made for €2.025 million. Therefore, there was no issue of misleading the bank”.
He also claimed: “Did I have any involvement in selling the loan? I did not consult with the bank”.
According to the Independent Authority Against Corruption’s investigation published last Friday, Sizopoulos and at least three other Taxan shareholders may have committed fraud, forgery, circulation of false documents and conspiracy to defraud.
The authority found that Taxan shareholders sold their company shares to an Iraqi investor for €2.025 million but declared the sale price as €1.6 million to settle bank debt. The bank would not have agreed to the same settlement terms had it known the actual sale price.
The authority concluded that using the 17th October 2017 contract aimed to mislead the bank and obtain financial benefit – a 37% discount on the loan amount and removal as loan guarantors.
The bank filed a police complaint stating it had been deceived, as it would not have written off €956,900 if it had known the shares sold for €2.025 million.
Outstanding tax obligations to the Tax Department exceed €10,000 from the Taxan sale transaction. Police previously submitted a file to the Attorney General’s office in August 2019, with consideration given to lifting Sizopoulos’s parliamentary immunity. However, the Attorney General’s office decided not to pursue charges in July 2020.
Sizopoulos refused to comment on the documents when repeatedly asked by Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation journalists, stating he would not reveal details due to potential legal proceedings.
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