ARTICLE
16 September 2013

Reopening Of The Central Information Register For The Issuers Of Dishonoured Cheques

EN
Elias Neocleous & Co LLC

Contributor

Elias Neocleous & Co LLC is the largest law firm in Cyprus and a leading firm in the South-East Mediterranean region, with a network of offices across Cyprus (Limassol, Nicosia, Paphos), Belgium (Brussels), Czech Republic (Prague), Romania (Budapest) and Ukraine (Kiev). A dynamic team of lawyers and legal experts deliver strategic legal solutions to clients operating in key industries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, India, USA, South America, and China. The firm is renowned for its expertise and jurisdictional knowledge across a broad spectrum of practice areas, spanning all major transactional and market disciplines, while also managing the largest and most challenging cross-border assignments. It is a premier practice of choice for leading Cypriot banks and financial institutions, preeminent foreign commercial and development banks, multinational corporations, global technology firms, international law firms, private equity funds, credit agencies, and asset managers.
In order to increase public acceptance of cheques, in 2003 the Central Bank of Cyprus 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.
Cyprus Wealth Management

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.

Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Learn More