Cyprus Popular Bank

The liquidator of the former Laiki Bank, Avgoustinos Papathomas, has achieved a key milestone in efforts to compensate creditors, particularly depositors who lost money during the bank's 2013 collapse.

The fund, Wellington Management Group, has acquired around 21 million shares in the Bank of Cyprus.

This is a 4.75% stake in the bank, as the fund participated in the recent placement for 4.8% of the share capital, where the liquidator of Laiki Bank made available a package of 21.5 million shares in total.

Bank of Cyprus will switch its stock market listing to Athens from London next month, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, the lender has said.

The bank has called a shareholders meeting in Nicosia on September 13 to approve the move, it said, adding that the company plans to list its shares on the Athens Stock Exchange on September 23.

In a potentially precedent-setting decision in Cyprus, the Limassol District Court has upheld its initial ruling in favor of a Russian depositor at now-defunct Laiki Bank, potentially exposing the state to financial implications of up to 2-3 billion euros. The court's decision, which awarded €780,000 in compensation to the depositor, could have far-reaching consequences for Cyprus.

The deal makes it the 4th largest shareholder in the Cypriot bank

The economy of Cyprus has suffered a serious blow from the flight of Russian capital from the island.
The Russian oligarchs who appear to be a pillar of Cyprus' banking system apparently want to stash away their wealth in other countries as the battle to combat money laundering heats up in the EU.

Athens-listed group Motor Oil announced yesterday the acquisition of a 97.08 percent of the Investment Bank of Greece (IBG) for 73.5 million euros. The deal was signed on Tuesday.

The buyout of the lender is made through Motor Oil's 100 percent subsidiary Ireon Investments Ltd that is based in Cyprus.

A council of appeals court judges on Tuesday ordered the extradition to Cyprus of Greek businessman Michalis Zolotas in connection with an alleged bribe paid to former Cyprus Central Bank governor Christodoulos Christodoulou.

Andreas Vgenopoulos, the lawyer turned businessman who founded one of Greece's largest holding groups, died at the age of 63 early on Saturday following a heart attack.

Vgenopoulos was the founder of Marfin Investment Group, which owned a number of businesses in Greece and southeastern Europe.

Criminal charges were filed against Greek financier and former Laiki Bank strongman Andreas Vgenopoulos on Thursday by prosecutors in Greece, over the lending of up to €200 million from Laiki to the IRF European Finance Investments, an investment vehicle owned by Greek ship-owner Angeliki Frangou. The case relates to some 200 million Euros in loans to the IRF without collateral, prosecutors cla