Audit Office Scrutinizes Diplomatic Stipends and Allowances
The Audit Office has raised concerns over the allocation of stipends to diplomats, particularly spotlighting the case of President Nikos Christodoulides. The report, which scrutinizes the foreign ministry’s financial activities for 2021 and 2022, reveals that Christodoulides continued to receive a monthly stipend of €4,128.45 for three months upon his return to Cyprus from Brussels, where he was previously stationed.
Despite his relocation, Christodoulides’ family remained in Brussels, prompting the ministry to maintain his stipend under the rationale of sustaining the same financial burden. This decision bypassed the need for a maintenance and subsistence allowance during his travels back to Brussels. The ministry cited precedent for such an arrangement, referencing two similar past instances.
However, the auditor-general expressed disapproval that the stipend was sanctioned not by the foreign minister but by the permanent secretary. The report further criticized the “illegal” secondments of diplomats’ wives and questioned the legitimacy of various allowances and healthcare costs for diplomatic mission members.
Notably, the Audit Office identified deficiencies within the ministry’s internal audit system, including procedural lapses in handling invoices and reconciling funds. The report also highlighted a case where a teacher was unlawfully seconded to perform diplomatic duties at an embassy in Europe and received overseas service allowances reserved for diplomats.
In another instance, a diplomat received rent allowance for an apartment he owned through a company, costing the state €45,000 between 2018 and 2021. Despite this revelation, the foreign ministry reportedly neither sought to recover the funds nor initiated disciplinary action against the diplomat in question.
The auditor-general condemned these practices as “provocative embezzlement of public funds” and “abuse of power,” urging for accountability and rectification of these financial irregularities within the diplomatic corps.
