In September 2006, the Trustees of the AremisSoft Corporation Liquidating Trust filed civil actions against Bank of Cyprus and other European banks in connection with accounts maintained at Bank of Cyprus and other European banks by AremisSoft, Lycourgos Kyprianou, the ex-President and Managing Director of AremisSoft, and his wife. In August 2007, a federal judge in New York granted the Bank's motion to dismiss that case and found that the appropriate forum for any claims against the Bank is the judicial system in Cyprus. To date, the Trustees have not filed any claims for damages against the Bank in Cyprus.
Following the federal judge's decision dismissing the Trustees' case, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York pursuant to a coordination agreement with the Trustees, threatened to file, and on 15 October 2007 filed on a civil action against the Bank based on very similar allegations as the ones set out in the Trustees' civil action already dismissed by the federal judge. Despite the fact that the Bank did not engage in any conduct in the United States, the United States Attorney's civil suit claims that the Bank violated United States law by enabling Kyprianou to channel though $162 million of proceeds from his own fraudulent conduct through accounts maintained at the Bank.
The Bank denies the allegations contained in both civil actions, and regards them as totally unfounded. The Bank maintains that it acted according to law at all times, and is determined to vigorously contest all allegations of wrongdoing whether advanced by the Trustees in Cyprus or the United States Attorney in New York. The Bank does not expect any significant financial or business consequences as a result of such actions because the civil claims are - in its view - factually and legally without merit.
Founded in 1899, the Bank of Cyprus Group is the leading Cypriot banking and financial services group. In 1991, the Group established its first branch in Greece where it has been expanding rapidly since 1999. It has an established banking presence in the United Kingdom and in 2001 it expanded to Australia through a wholly owned subsidiary bank. In addition to retail and commercial banking, the Group's activities include finance, factoring, investment banking, brokerage, fund management, life and general insurance. The Group currently operates through a total of 287 branches, of which 144 operate in Cyprus, 123 in Greece, 6 in the United Kingdom, 11 in Australia, 1 in Romania, 1 in Russia and 1 in the Channel Islands. Bank of Cyprus also has representative offices in Russia, Canada, South Africa and the United States of America. The Bank of Cyprus Group employs 6.555 staff worldwide.
At 30 June 2007, the Group's Total Assets reached C£16,71 bn (euro 28,62 bn) and the Shareholders' Funds were C£1,04 bn (euro 1,77 bn). The Bank of Cyprus shares are listed on the Cyprus and Athens Stock Exchanges. Additional information can be found at the Group's website www.bankofcyprus.com