A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

I would like to thank IMH Gold Magazine “Legal Edition” for soliciting my perspective on the present and forthcoming state of the Cyprus legal market. Link of the interview here: https://shorturl.at/lqHQX #Cyprus #Law #Legal #IMH #GoldMagazine #LegalMarket #Lawyer #AGFrangos

September 26, 2023
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

Following the Judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEE) in joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20, of November 22, 2022 the Registrar of Companies has decided to suspend access to the Beneficial Owners register for the public service.  The Registrar issued the following the statement dated 23d Novemeber 2022: "The Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property announces that, following the Judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEE) in joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20, of November 22, 2022, access to the Register of Beneficial Owners for the general public is suspended as of the 23rd of November 2022. According to the above-mentioned Judgement of the CJEE, Article 1, point 15(c) of Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and the Council, of 30th May 2018, which provides for access to the information on the beneficial ownership of legal entities to any member of the general public, is invalid as it constitutes a serious interference with the fundamental rights of respect for private life and to the protection of personal data, enshrined in Articles 7 and 8 respectively, of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The relevant information to the competent and supervisory authorities and the Unit as referred in article 12 of Directive R.A.A. 112/2021 and amending Directive R.A.A. 116/2022, will continue to be provided with the applicable procedure.   The relevant information will, also continue to be provided to the obliged entities, with the applicable procedure by submitting additionally a solemn declaration confirming that the information on the Beneficial Owners is requested within the context of performing customer due diligence.   It should be noted that the obligation of companies and partnerships to submit and update their Beneficial Owners information is not affected and remains valid."  The official press release can be found here:  https://www.companies.gov.cy/en/knowledgebase/news/suspension-of-access-to-the-beneficial-owners-register-for-the-general-public

December 1, 2022
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

It is with great pleasure and pride that we can announce our firm's partnership with the Cyprus Institute of Marketing - The Cyprus Business School the Leading Business School in Cyprus since 1978. Our firm A. G. Frangos & Co LLC sharing common values with the Cyprus Institute of Marketing making education accessible for people who need it, we initiate our partnership by offering a full scholarship for their prestigious MBA program worth €7800. More about the scholarship scheme here: https://cima.ac.cy/scholarship-a-g-frangos-llc/ The deadline for the application is on 26/08/2022.

August 8, 2022
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

Here at A. G. Frangos & Co LLC we keep educating ourselves. Having in mind the long processing times of a legal action, filed in our judicial system, along with high accompanying costs and uncertain outcomes, our Firm now offers mediation services in both commercial and civil disputes. Ms. Anastasia Ioannou and Mr. Andreas Frangos, have undergone mediation training by the Cyprus Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution, as per the requirements of the Law, in order to be officially recognised by the law as capable to offer such services. They successfully concluded the programme which as per the description by the Cyprus Center of Alternative Dispute Resolution: "The mediation market in Cyprus is governed by the provisions of the Law on Certain Matters of Mediation in Civil Disputes Law of 2012 (Law 159(I)/2012). This law requires that for someone to become a mediator, they will have to undergo mediation training of a duration of 40-hours. According to the relevant domestic law concerning mediation, there are two types of mediation – mediation for commercial disputes and mediation for civil disputes. A commercial dispute is a dispute arising from a commercial transaction between traders or between traders and public authorities, while a civil dispute means any dispute that may be the subject of civil proceedings, in the sense ascribed to this term under the Courts of Justice Law and it includes labor disputes, but it does not include family disputes. There is specific legislation in place for becoming a mediator in relation to family disputes, which provides for family mediation courses under that specific law. For someone to officially become a mediator, a special register is kept by the Ministry of Justice and Public Order for the registration of a mediator, which presupposes that that specific person has completed the mediation training successfully. There are two Registers of Mediators: the Mediator Register for Commercial Disputes and the Mediator Register for Civil Disputes."

June 2, 2022
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

Our firm as members of the Global Business Lawyers Alliance (GBL) had the great opportunity to attend the Spring Conference of the Alliance, which took place in Helsinki 4 - 6 May. We had the chance to meet face to face after two years due to the pandemic restrictions with colleagues from around the world and above all to educate ourselves. Doing business in Finland, legal tech and digitalisation challenges, client's perspective and expectations, #IP, #web3, #metaverse, #nfts were among others, the issues we indulged during the conference. More to come from the conference. Stay tuned. #lawyers #legaltech #business #opportunity #GBL #Helsinki #cyprus

May 10, 2022
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

Decision by Paris Court of Appeal in favour of the Republic of Cyprus in the FBME Cyprus branch case. Related Article below from philnews: https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/decision-by-paris-court-of-appeal-in-favour-of-the-republic-of-cyprus-in-the-fbme-cyprus-branch-case/  Τhe Paris Court of Appeal dismissed an application for the annulment of an International Arbitral Award, in favour of the Republic of Cyprus concerning FBME Bank, it was announced on Wednesday by the Republic`s Law Office. The case concerns the disagreement by the holders of FBME Bank Ltd`s share capital to the decision by the Central Bank of Cyprus to place FBME`s  branch in Cyprus under resolution. In a press release, the Republic of Cyprus` Law Office said that the Paris Court of Appeal issued on Tuesday, a Decision dismissing the application for the annulment of the Final Award, dated 15 January 2019, of the International Arbitral Tribunal in the arbitration A.F.M.S. and F.M.S. v. Republic of Cyprus (Case no. 20588/ZF//AYZ), and awarded 80,000 euros in costs in favour of the Republic. It is recalled that Mr. A.F.M.S. and Mr. F.M.S., who indirectly hold the share capital of FBME Bank Ltd., brought, in 2014, a claim against the Republic of Cyprus on the basis of the bilateral Agreement on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments between Cyprus and Lebanon, in an International Arbitral Tribunal established in accordance with the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, requesting compensation amounting to 1.4 billion US Dollars, it noted. The claimants had asserted, it adds, that the Central Bank of Cyprus had acted arbitrarily by placing the Cyprus branch of FBME under resolution, in accordance with the Resolution of Credit and Other Institutions Law of 2013, due to reasons relating to the reaction of the markets to the classification of FBME by FinCEN as a Bank “of primary money-laundering concern”. “The Arbitral Tribunal, by the Award dated 15 January 2019, by majority, dismissed all the claims against the Republic and confirmed that the Central Bank of Cyprus acted as a prudent supervisory authority, and that the Republic did not violate any of its obligations under the bilateral Agreement,” the Law Office said. Yesterday’s Decision of the Paris Court of Appeal confirms, inter alia, it said, that the Arbitral Tribunal had acted within its jurisdiction, and dismisses all the grounds for the annulment of the Award raised by the applicants. Furthermore, the Court of Appeal decided that the reasoning of the Tribunal on the merits cannot be reviewed by the Court within the framework of a set-aside motion. It further stated that it cannot be argued that the Tribunal failed to comply with its mission, and that there cannot be any breach of the international public order, the Law Office said. The Republic was represented before the Paris Court of Appeal by the law firm Viguié Schmidt & Associés, in close collaboration with the law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP (which represented the Republic before the Arbitral Tribunal), under the instructions of the Law Office of the Republic, in coordination with the Central Bank of Cyprus and the Ministry of Finance. (CNA)

March 24, 2022
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

After years of discussions the Plenary of the House of Representatives will examine a proposed bill for the establishment of a Commerical and Admiralty Court with optional working language the English language, Related Article below by Philnews: https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/bill-establishing-commercial-court-admiralty-court-goes-before-plenum/ "A proposed bill establishing a Commercial Court and an Admiralty Court in Cyprus will soon go before the House plenum for approval, Philenews reported on Thursday. Another proposed bill providing for an amendment to the Constitutions so that the use of the English language is allowed during hearings at the two new courts is under review. These developments will constitute significant progress in the much-needed reform of the island’s judicial system. Debate on these two issues before the House Legal Committee is ongoing with objections initially raised by some MPs. However, it was concluded that the establishment and operation of both courts will help Cyprus to become a place for resolving international financial disputes. At the same time, district courts will be confronted with less cases and, thus, faster decisions will be taken. The bills provide for five new judges to be hired for both courts."

March 24, 2022
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

Announcment issued today 24th March 2022 by RCB Bank  RCB Bank Ltd has taken a decision to transform the Bank into a regulated asset management company, shifting away from banking operations, which will be phased out. Although RCB has been, and remains abundant in liquidity and capital, the on-going and extremely volatile geopolitical situation requires it to transform and adopt a new strategy - phasing out banking operations, while at the same time ensuring that the best interests of its clients are secured. Subsequently, after the bank completes its shift away from accepting deposits and granting loans, it plans to transform into a regulated asset management company, given the substantial assets on its balance sheet. During this transformation process, RCB Bank will continue to service its existing clients and process all requests for payments or deposit transfers to accounts with other banks, meeting any current obligations. Starting from today, March 24 2022, RCB Bank, in agreement with the ECB Banking Supervision, will cease from entering into new business with clients with respect to both deposits and/or loans. The Bank will follow a specific timeline and process for winding down existing client relationships. For accurate implementation of this   process, as well as for greater confidence of our clients that all obligations to them will be paid in full, RCB Bank agreed with the ECB Banking Supervision that it is appropriate to appoint a special Auditors’ Firm who together with the management of the bank will additionally control the process of the bank completing its settlements with depositors, ensuring the smooth conclusion of the deposit relationships. The Supervisors have decided that a professional team from a reputable audit firm, specifically Deloitte, will have this role. The Board of Directors and the management will of course continue to perform their duties as usual, shall organize the process of the repayment of funds to customers and steer the transformation of the bank. It must be underlined that in accordance with RCB’s core values of trust, responsibility and excellence, the Bank will proceed with the full repayment of all its obligations towards its clients and continue focused on the management of the remaining assets. As recently announced, RCB has already negotiated the partial sale of its loan assets amounting to 556 million EUR. This action together with the existing high levels of liquidity enables RCB to fully meet its obligations to its clients and retain sufficient liquid assets for further operations after its transformation into an asset management company. Our clients will be notified and requested to transfer their operations/deposits to other banking institutions in the coming months. In the interim period existing clients will be serviced as usual. We will continue to execute payments and transfers on instructions of our clients and enable their transition to other banks, processing card payments and acquiring services. We will make payments, as usual with same date value, and repay deposits according to their contractual maturity or standard notice period (within 5 business days in case of early termination). Shortly, RCB Bank intends to send notices to its clients for account closures and shall begin at the same time negotiations with customers whose fixed deposits mature after June 2022 regarding the terms of early repayment with payment of the full amount of the deposit and interest for the period during which the amount was held by the Bank. Upon full repayment of all demands and fixed deposits, RCB is planning to transform into an asset management company, which will continue to manage its substantial loan portfolio and specialize in the provision of other services. RCB would like to wholeheartedly thank its clients for the long and mutually beneficial cooperation and regrets that due to the new geopolitical situation, it has decided, for Cyprus’ best interests, to take such measures when all its financial indexes were certainly among the best in the country.

March 24, 2022
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

Our clients and friends Sychem Cyprus had their special night taking place on Thursday, 26th of April 2018. Our managing partner Mr. Andreas Frangos and Chairman of the Board of the Cyprus Land Development Corporation. along with Ms. Myrianthi Papayianni partner and Ms. Anastasia Ioannou senior associate from our Litigation Department, attended the opening ceremony of the Sychem Cyprus offices as well as the official presentation of the innovative green features of "The Oval" building in Limassol Cyprus. The Oval is not only a spectacular office building, but also a state of the art technological installation featuring advanced energy and water saving technologies. The Oval is the first decentralised open geo-exchange high rise building in Southern Europe and it is simply setting the standards in a whole new level regarding sustainable office developments. Sychem Group and Cybarco worked closely to design and construct this Innovative Green Building. The Dep. Government Spokeswoman Ms. Klelia Vasiliou addressed the event on behalf of the President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Nicos Anastasiades. We are happy and honored A. G. Frangos & Co LLC being a part of their team. All the best to Sychem Cyprus!!!

April 30, 2018
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

We are glad to inform you that the President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, has appointed on the 21st December 2016, the Managing Director of our Firm Mr. Andreas Frangos as Chairman of the Board of the semi-public organization "Cyprus Land Development Corporation"http://www.cldc.org.cy/koag/index.html  . The Council of Ministers approved his appointment at its meeting dated 21st December 2016.

January 17, 2017
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

Our firm participated with our partner Mrs. Myrianthi Papayianni, in the 1st International Networking Congress of Lawyers organised by the European Center for Legal Cooperation (CECJ), Strasburg, France in cooperation with Federal Chamber of Lawyers of the Russian Federation, Moscow City Bar, which took place in Saint-Petersburg and Moscow between 27th -29th June, 2016.

July 1, 2016
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

Marios Apostolidis a junior colleague and top athlete, member of the Cyprus national team of track and field in long distances, won the first place in Paphos Logicom Marathon in the category of 10km, sponsored by our firm. It is with great pleasure that we would like to congratulate Marios and wish him all the best. Our firm always promotes ethos and fair-play in all aspects of personal and business life and only sponsors the best. Thank you Marios.

March 17, 2016
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

The proposition outlines that the organization will be legally unbundled into two distinct organisations; a distribution monopoly responsible for distribution and transmission, and a power-producing entity responsible for production and supply, competing in the liberalised electricity market. This separation of the EAC is in an effort by the government to satisfy one of Troika's preconditions for the successful completion of the evaluation programme and is a step towards unlocking the final tranche of funding from Troika. According to a government source, the troika agreed to the withdrawal of the EAC's privatisation decree and the inclusion of government reservations relating to uncertain factors such as a potential solution to the Cyprus problem, natural gas developments and the EuroAsia Interconnector project, designed to connect the grids of Israel, Cyprus and mainland Europe via a subsea cable. EAC'S Customer Service will be closed to the public Unions will also be holding a general meeting at the EAC's Strovolos offices on Monday, bringing employees from across the island. As a result, the customer service will be closed to the public. An announcement by the EAC apologised for any inconveniences and sought to clarify supply would not be affected. Efficient and Effective splitting up The memorandum of understanding with the international lenders calls for the "efficient and effective" splitting up of the state power company. It is a 'prior action' for the release of the next tranche of Cyprus' bailout programme and was initially regarded as one of a handful of privatisations that, too, have not materialised, including the telecom company CyTA, the Ports Authority and divestment of other assets. The aim was to help the government raise some €1.4bn from privatisations and reduction of the workforce from the state payroll.

January 11, 2016
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

On Thursday the 26th of November 2015 the House passed the much-anticipated bill of civil cohabitation regulating the rights and obligations of couples that wish to enter into an alternative form of union other than that of marriage. Despite carrying the full force of traditional unions between two persons, adoptions are forbidden for couples entering into a civil cohabitation agreement. The prohibition - which some argued is discriminatory - applies to heterosexual as well as same-sex couples. In theory, however, one or the other individual in a partnership would be able to file for adoption. That's because adoption laws allow individuals who are single to adopt children. On the other hand, MPs had been reluctant to amend current adoption laws, which do not cover civil partnerships.The bill passed with 39 votes for, 12 against, while three MPs abstained. "This bill is not about homosexuality, rather we are voting for freedom and equality... it is about allowing an alternative union," said DIKO MP Nicholas Papadopoulos, who was in favour. As originally seen in http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/11/26/house-passes-htnerships-bill/ by Elias Hazou and Annette Chrysostomou All information contained herein is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Articles and links are provided for informational purposes only and believed to be reliable; however in no way shall their presentation here be construed as a guarantee of their accuracy by A.G Frangos & Co LLC.

November 30, 2015
A.G. Frangos & Co Corporate Communications

A Government bill allowing court-ordered lifting of communications privacy went through by a narrow majority of 28 votes in favour on Thursday 26 November 2015. The Bill allows to monitor and gather written electronic communications following a court order, for cases relating to drug trafficking, human trafficking, corruption, homeland security and monetary stability. House Legal Committee Chairman Sotiris Sampson declared that the Bill will be another powerful weapon in the availability of law enforcement in order for the guilty to serious offenses and the scandal of the economy to be brought before Courts and sentenced for the offenses they have committed. All information contained herein is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Articles and links are provided for informational purposes only and believed to be reliable; however in no way shall their presentation here be construed as a guarantee of their accuracy by A.G Frangos & Co LLC.

November 27, 2015