Some members of the committee of the Paphos Bar Association did not accept the election result and started to pause in the meetings, cursing and shouting, according to a written statement issued today by the president of the association Savvas Zannoupas, in response to reports of resignation of members accused of harmful acts.
Regarding the accusations of the members of the committee on the issue of the club of the Paphos Bar Association, Mr. Zannoupas states that he had preferred as a solution the holding of seminars that each lawyer is required to attend every year to renew his license in order to compensate the loss of revenue from the termination of the resale of stamps. “In the summer of 2021”, he claims, “after marathon efforts, the Association signed a license with the company Nodivo Trading Ltd. It is a fact that at that time my wife was working for this company, but there was no objection as Nodivo Trading Ltd was the only one interested and it was approved unanimously by the Council. On the other hand, neither my wife's employment conditions improved nor did my wife or I ever benefit from Nodivo Trading Ltd. And I challenge any of the 8 signatories to have any evidence to reveal it. “
This is the written announcement of the president of the Paphos Bar Association:
In relation to the resignation letter sent by the 8 Members of the Board of Paphos, I will simply repeat what I wrote just 3 days ago in my response to the email of the Member Mr. Jason Telemachos. The following text is quoted:
In relation to the e-mail sent to you the day before yesterday by the Member of the Board of Paphos Mr. Jason Telemachos and what Mr. Telemachos claims, I can only mention that these are refuted by the correspondence exchanged by the President and the Members of the Board of Paphos both via email and via viber. The least one would expect was how Mr. Telemachus had attached the correspondence. PS From the day I took office I asked for the meetings of the Council to be recorded. With the exception of 1 Member, the rest disagree therefore the meetings are not recorded. At the same time, both the meetings of the Pancyprian Bar Association and the Lawyers' Pension Fund are recorded and videotaped (when possible). Why Paphos Board Members Refuse & # 8230; it would be good to ask the same.¨
On the other hand, some things need to be put in place.
From the evening of 22-09-2020 (the day I was elected Chairman of the Board of Paphos), some Members of the Committee did not accept the election result. As a result, they began to misbehave in meetings, swearing, shouting and insulting. Realizing this but also in order to prevent it, from the very first session I asked for the meetings to be recorded. I also sent a relevant letter to the Commissioner for Personal Data. With the exception of 1 of the signatories, the rest refused, with the result that the meetings were not recorded. At the same time, both the meetings of the Pancyprian Bar Association and the Lawyers' Pension Fund are recorded and videotaped (when possible).
As for the rest, let me mention that what is mentioned in the letter of 8, is rejected by the correspondence exchanged by the President and the Members of the Board of Paphos both via email and via viber. The least one would expect was that the signatories to the resignation had attached the correspondence.
In relation to the Seminar Committee, I would like to mention that I have already asked not to be a Member in order to give freedom to the Members. But I had an active role in it, and especially in relation to the AML seminars where for both 2021 and 2022 I undertook on my own initiative to consolidate the total participation times of each participant and to send the relevant report to the Pancyprian Bar Association. At the same time I was responsible for the issuance of certificates but also an active role in ordering and preparing certificates from the printing house and sending the links to the participants in the seminars.
Regarding the issue of the Club, they are worth mentioning the following:
From the moment I took over the Presidency and given the implementation of the electronic registration system which was already in progress, I recognized the risk of the Association's viability. Characteristically and only in 2019 the turnover of stamps sold by the Board of Paphos was close to € 1000000,00. Given that the resale rate was 2%, the Association had in 2019 revenues of € 20000.00 from the resale of stamps.
With this in mind, we should think as an Association to find sources of income to make up for the loss of € 20000.00 which was about 60% of the total income of the Association.
The solution I proposed was the following: To keep the Club and in it to conduct the seminars that each lawyer is required to attend every year to renew his license (8 non-certified hours + 4 certified hours + 10 AML hours per office). The Club can accommodate 100+ people. If we take into account that in Paphos we have about 400 lawyers, it means that each lawyer should attend about 5-6 seminars a year. If we multiply 400 by 5 it gives us the number 2000 (people). If in 2000 (people) we divide it by the people (100) who can attend the seminar in the Club, it gives us the number 20. This means that 20 times a year the Club will be used for seminar purposes. If for each participation a charge of € 10.00 is made, it means that for the 2000 people the Association will have an income of € 20000.00. Exactly what was his income from the resale of stamps for 2019.
In conclusion, the Club would be the compensation for the loss of revenue from the termination of the resale of the stamps. It is worth noting that no Member submitted any other suggestions.
In the summer of 2021, after marathon efforts, the Association signed a license with the company Nodivo Trading Ltd. It is a fact that at that time my wife was working for this company, but there was no objection as Nodivo Trading Ltd was the only one interested and it was approved unanimously by the Council. On the other hand, neither my wife's employment conditions improved nor did my wife or I ever benefit from Nodivo Trading Ltd. And I challenge any of the 8 signatories to have any evidence to disclose it.
What followed after Nodivo Trading Ltd decided to sell the commercial goodwill (Goodwill) can be seen in the correspondence exchanged between the President and the Board Members of the Board of Paphos both via email and via viber, which rejects what 8 sign. The report that Marilena Patsalidou was allegedly authorized to make the changes to the contract is refuted by the correspondence. The allegation that the new Licensee allegedly agreed with the changes proposed by Ms. Patsalidou is also refuted.
Regarding the financial aspect, the Association through me received up to the last Euro that Nodivo Trading Ltd owed to him. At the same time, a new contract was signed with another person (natural person) with 3 guarantors and terms identical to those of Nodivo Trading Ltd.
The report that the Chairman of the Board of Paphos holds cash of the Association is completely false. The only property cash of the Association that was given to the President was the one owed by Nodivo Trading Ltd which was given to the employee of the Association and which was deposited in the bank after deducting the amount of money to be paid to the Owners of the Club rent in May and June 2022 which the Association owed them. Of course if the 8 have any information according to which the President keeps money of the Association it would be good to disclose them. They do not have and will not find because the President does not have the money of the Association. the Association if 2 individuals made a private agreement between them but also to indicate what damage the Association suffered.
At the end of the day, what was clearly proven was that with the correct handling of the President, a new Licensee was found to replace Nodivo Trading Ltd without the Association losing Euros, while at the same time the Association secured its rights in the Club so that the Association continues to exist.
Anything else said is left over. The events are roaring.
Savvas Zannoupas
Paphos Chairman
