In order to increase public acceptance of cheques, in 2003 the
Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) and the Commissioner of the
Co-operative Societies Supervision and Development Authority
jointly established a register of issuers of dishonoured cheques
known as the Central Information Registry. The register, operated
by the Central Bank of Cyprus, records individuals or legal persons
who have, over a period of 12 months, issued at least three
dishonoured cheques irrespective of the value of the cheques, or
have issued dishonoured cheques with an aggregate value of more
than €2,000. Individuals responsible for the accounts of
companies listed in the register are also listed. The accounts of
individuals or companies appearing in the register in all banks and
cooperative credit institutions are frozen and all unissued cheques
are confiscated.
Individuals and companies generally remain on the register for at
least three years and in order to be removed they must demonstrate
that all cheques have been paid and 12 months have elapsed since
the last dishonoured cheque was honoured. The Management Committee
of the register also has discretion to delete an entry if the
dishonoured cheques are honoured within a month of being recorded
as dishonoured.
Following the disruption to the domestic banking system that
occurred in the wake of the resolution of Laiki Bank, the forced
recapitalisation of Bank of Cyprus and the imposition of controls
on banking transactions, the CCBC decided in April 2013 to
temporarily suspend the blacklisting of issuers of dishonoured
cheques.
The CBC has now announced that the Central Information Registry
will resume operations from 2 September 2013, with temporarily
modified procedures which take into account the current economic
situation and sensitivities of the business community as a whole.
The CBC recognises the problems arising from the bank resolution
measures and aims at a transparent, fair and equitable treatment of
persons included in the register solely due to the resolution
measures. The CBC also intends to simplify the procedure for
settlement of dishonoured cheques and deletion from the
register.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
