The “Audit Office” speaks of “an attempt to challenge the validity of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), even in the interpretation of its own principles and standards”, in an announcement, expressing its surprise for the fact.
He states that “the INTOSAI Communication speaks for itself, as this international body shares the Audit Office's concerns about restrictions on its right to access information, directly and without restriction, to all necessary documents and information, for the proper fulfillment of its legal obligations “.
“INTOSAI clearly highlights the violation of three of the eight pillars of independence of the Mexico Declaration,” it said. It again calls on the Government to reconsider its position and to allow the smooth conduct of the audit of the Cyprus Investment Program.
It is recalled that earlier the Attorney General indicated in a written statement that INTOSAI does not justify the Auditor General of the Republic, Odysseas Michailidis.
The following is the announcement of the Audit Office:
Regarding today's announcement of the Legal Service, we express our surprise at the attempt to challenge the validity of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), even in terms of the interpretation of its own principles and standards. The Legal Service in its response to INTOSAI had claimed that the facts differ due to the Standard of the INTOSAI GUID – 5270 (Guideline for the Audit of Corruption Prevention Guide). As expected, INTOSAI rejected this argument, as this standard clearly does not apply, nor is it interpreted in the way claimed by the Legal Service.
The announcement of INTOSAI speaks for itself. This international organization shares the concerns of the Audit Office that arise due to the restrictions placed on its right of access to information, directly, and without restriction, to all necessary documents and information, for the proper fulfillment of its legal obligations. INTOSAI clearly highlights the violation of three of the eight pillars of independence of the Mexico Declaration, which with the vote of this Government was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2014 (Resolution no. A / 69/228, dated 19.12.2014. ), while it was previously adopted in 2011 (Resolution no. A / 66/209, dated 22.12.2011). These resolutions emphasize the importance of ensuring the independence of the Supreme Audit Institutions in transparency, which is a key tool in the fight against corruption.
In the Note we submitted to INTOSAI on 1 December 2020, we requested the following:
“The above serious violations of the principles of independence pose a serious threat to the independence of the Audit Office, which considers it necessary the intervention of INTOSAI, which through SIRAM will explain to the Government, the Parliament and the Attorney General the necessity of these . »
That is what we were asking for. INTOSAI fully justified the positions of the Audit Office. This is obvious.
We once again call on the Government to reconsider its stance and to allow the smooth conduct of the audit of the Cyprus Investment Program. We have already explained that this respects the positions of the Legal Service, even if we disagree with them, since our Report will be issued after the completion of the work of the Research Committee (June 7, 2021).
