Gold Magazine April - May 2013, Issue 25 | Page 38

INTERVIEW

THE CYPRUS BANKING SYSTEM
IS GOING TO EMERGE SMALLER BUT STRONGER
Gold: Do you think that a significant
number of companies – whether Russian
owned or otherwise – will relocate away
from Cyprus after what’s happened?
A.D.: From my experience and from my discussions with my fellow countrymen, I don’t
see them ready to pull their companies and
their money out of Cyprus. It’s true that the
Russian business community is quite nervous
but we need to see the next steps regarding
restrictions on capital movement and all these
new bank-related measures. What we’ve seen
so far doesn’t look particularly scary. The
restrictions are reasonable and we can live
with them but we need to see what’s going to
happen after the first ones are lifted. If these
are the only restrictions, the situation will be
fine.
Gold: So it didn’t cross your mind to get
out of Cyprus?
A.D.: No. I believe that we’re going to survive this crisis and become even stronger.
Gold: What are your expectations for
ForexTime and for Cyprus as a regional
business centre in 2013?
A.D.: As far as ForexTime is concerned, the
company will have been in its first year of
operations so I don’t expect anything beyond
what I have planned. As for Cyprus, what concerns me the most is the existence of so many
rumours surrounding the bailout package.
Rumours can cause far more damage than any
restrictions on capital. I want to see the steps
that the Cyprus government will take to improve the country’s image. Obviously it’s now
in Cyprus’ interest to bring in world-renowned
audit firms to carry out all the checks that are
needed on its anti-money laundering procedures and to clarify all the accusations of shady
dealings. So a marketing or PR campaign is
needed but it must be based on something
tangible. Cyprus needs to have credible and
convincing reports about the clarity and transparency of its financial system and once it has
them, then it’s a question of a good PR job to
promote the findings.
Gold: Although, as you have said, the banking sector has been seriously affected, do
you think that the broader professional
services sector will be hit to a similarly severe degree?
A.D.: No. I think the general public is going

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to be hit the most because there are going to
be some quite drastic