Cyprus transparency commissioner announces statement in ‘black van’ case
In Cyprus, Transparency Commissioner Harris Poyiadjis, who heads the anti-corruption authority, told the parliamentary institutions committee that they plan to release a statement on Monday regarding the case of the so-called “black van”. This was stated in an editorial by Cyprus Mail.
MP’s inquiry
According to the publication, Poyiadjis was responding to an inquiry from Alma party MP Irini Charalambidis. She asked whether the anti-corruption authority had completed its examination of the case related to the use of surveillance equipment in the black van of WiSpear, a company operating in the security technology sector.
Cyprus Mail writes that the case was closed in 2021. At that time, the attorney general suspended the prosecution of WiSpear executive director Tal Dilian and two other individuals, while continuing proceedings against the company. WiSpear pleaded guilty to several violations of personal data protection rules and received a fine of 76,000 euros. Separately, Cyprus’s data protection authority fined the company 925,000 euros.
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2023 complaint
In 2023, a complaint was submitted to the anti-corruption authority demanding that the examination of the case be resumed and that a new investigation into related issues be conducted. Also, according to Cyprus Mail, attempts were made to link the Cypriot case to the Predator surveillance software case in Greece, which involved companies connected to Dilian.
The Cyprus Mail editorial board notes that in Greece the matter concerned surveillance of the content of communications between people, whereas in Cyprus, in its assessment, this did not occur. The article’s authors also expressed the view that the anti-corruption authority has no powers to review the case after a decision by Cyprus’s legal service.
