CyBC director-general appeals his suspension
CyBC director general Thanasis Tsokos will appeal a decision by the state broadcaster’s board to suspend him for three months, as investigations allegations against him are ongoing, it emerged on Wednesday.
The investigations include abuse of power and financial mismanagement.
His lawyer Chris Triantafyllides said in an announcement that it was decided that Tsokos would appeal the decision of the board.
The legal team have said that their main claim is that the decision is unlawful, in that it was taken in breach of the legal principles by a body – the board of directors of CyBC – which was operating with an unlawful composition and with its chairman in breach of the objective criterion of impartiality.
The appeal hearing was set for a first appearance before the Administrative Court on 10/9/2024.
CyBC has already given to the investigating officer all the documents covering the relevant complaints and allegations.
A decision was made by the cabinet for a disciplinary investigation into Tsokos on April 30, 2024.
The permanent secretary of the deputy ministry of culture, Emmanuella Lambrianidou, was named as the officer appointed to investigate the claims against Tsokos.
The cabinet had to get directly involved with the case in appointing an investigating officer. That’s because, under the rules, a civil servant can only be subject to a disciplinary probe run by a civil servant who has seniority.
Since Tsokos was the most senior in CyBC, the organisation could not appoint an in-house investigating officer. Tsokos is on the A15 pay grade, meaning only someone on the A16 pay grade may investigate him. Permanent secretaries of ministries, on the A16 grade, fit the bill.
Some of the allegations Tsokos faces include wasteful spending, such as for outsourcing services (like film editing) which the CyBC could have done in-house, dubious selection of an external company to provide services to the state broadcaster, frequently holding expensive public events at the CyBC premises, excessive personal use of the service car, and irregularities relating to the work roster in the sports department.