Cyprus Police hand Takata investigation materials to Legal Service — Cyprus Mail
Cyprus Police have handed the Legal Service materials from the investigation into the history of defective Takata airbags in the country and their importation to the island. Attorney General Giorgos Savvides is expected to review the materials and decide whether to initiate criminal proceedings. He may also instruct the police to conduct an additional investigation, Cyprus Mail reports.
Findings of the special commission
Police handed over the materials 15 months after a special commission recommended bringing criminal charges against three people. Savvides received its report in July last year and subsequently forwarded it to the police and the cabinet of ministers.
The commission included its chair, former Supreme Court judge Michalakis Christodoulou, Bar Association president Michael Vorkas, and Audit Service representative Theodosios Hadjimichael. The commission considered four transport ministers who served between 2013 and 2023 to be largely responsible for the spread of defective Takata airbags on the Cypriot market.
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The report names Efthymios Flourentzou, Marios Demetriades, Vasiliki Anastasiadou and the current Famagusta district governor, Yiannis Karousos. According to the commission, the former ministers are responsible for the inaction, negligence and indifference demonstrated by the Road Transport Department.
Possible criminal proceedings
When presenting the report, Christodoulou said that the commission had identified the possibility of abuse of power, murder, causing death through negligent acts and inflicting grievous bodily harm. The potential charges also concern the cases of Alexandros Lougos, who suffered injuries with serious consequences due to a defective airbag in 2017, as well as Styliani Georgalli and Kyriakos Oxinos, who died in accidents involving such airbags.
The problem is linked to products made by the Japanese company Takata. According to the source, due to exposure to high temperatures or humidity, such airbags can explode when deployed. As a result, the metal inflator may fly toward the person the airbag was meant to protect, causing injuries or death.
