Companies lose more than 5 per cent of their revenue each year to fraud, according to data from an international study by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), presented by Chrystalla Kazara, vice president and director of training for the organization’s Cyprus office.

KEY FACTS

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• The study examined 1,921 real-life cases of job fraud from 138 countries.
• Kazara pointed out that the losses of companies from fraud annually amount to more than 3.1 billion dollars.
• She added that fraud cases are divided into three categories – embezzlement, corruption and misuse of financial statements. Embezzlement was the most common category, accounting for 89 % of cases in the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners survey, Kazara explained.
• According to her, during the coronavirus pandemic, there was a serious increase in losses from fraud by 24 %, with the biggest jump being marked by cases of corruption – 33 %, and in second place was fraud with financial statements. According to her, this is due to the compromise of the companies’ internal control systems.

TANGENT

Kazara pointed out that specifically for Eastern Europe, the most serious problems are due to corruption, which refers to 71 % of the cases in the study by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

The study also indicates that more than half of the frauds are due to company employees. Kazara emphasized that if employees were trained in how to act on fraud, it would prevent a large number of cases.

Google needs to revamp its app store to give more options for Android users to transact through third-party apps directly. The decision comes against the background of the precedent set by the war between Epic Games – the creator of Fortnite – and Apple.

KEY FACTS

• Federal Judge Jaime Donato ruled that Google must open its app store to competitors and give Android users more choice when downloading them.
• In practice, this means that Google has to change the way it manages Google Play in the next three years.
• The company cannot force developers to use Google Play’s billing system while allowing them to notify their users of alternative payment methods.
• The court ordered Epic Games and Google to establish a three-person technical committee to implement and monitor the court order.
• The order will take effect from November 1.
• Following the decision, Alphabet shares closed down 2.5%, currently trading at $164.39.
• In response to the decision, Google said it would file an appeal, arguing that the changes would “undermine Android’s ability to compete with Apple’s iOS.”
• Epic Games described the decision as “big news”. The creator of Fortnite plans to launch its own store on Google Play in 2025.

IMPORTANT QUOTE

“Ultimately, while these changes likely satisfy Epic Games’ requirements, they will have a number of unintended consequences that will harm American consumers, developers, and device manufacturers,” Google said.

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KEY STORY

US-based developer Epic Games’ Fortnite is a game backed by the world’s largest game studio, the Chinese company Tencent. The game launched in 2017 and became an instant hit, attracting the interest of millions of players across the globe. 

However, in August 2020, Apple and Google removed Fortnite from their app stores because Epic Games violated their policy with its Epic Games Store payment service, which allows in-game purchases. The saga sparked a series of lawsuits.

However, under the Digital Markets Act that came into effect in March, Apple and Google had to allow Epic Games to operate freely. In August, Fortnite became available again for iPhone users in the EU.

September ended on a positive note in terms of passenger traffic at Larnaka and Pafos Airports. Last month, 1.4 million passengers travelled to and from Larnaka and Pafos airports, further contributing to the upward trend observed this year. Compared to September 2023, passenger traffic increased by 7%, and this September’s performance set an all-time record for the month.

For September, the top markets for Larnaka Airport were the United Kingdom, Greece, Israel, Poland, and Germany, while for Pafos Airport, the top markets were the United Kingdom, Greece, Poland, Israel, and France.

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The trend in passenger traffic has shown an upward trajectory over the past nine months. From January to September, a total of 9.5 million passengers travelled through both airports, representing a 5% increase compared to the same period last year.

In October, the flight schedule continues to hover at around 1,000 flights per week, and the data available for the winter season is very encouraging. Specifically, from November to March, an additional 300,000 seats have been added compared to the same period last year, which had already seen an increase.

The Director of Aviation Development, Marketing and Communication of Hermes Airports, Maria Kouroupi stated, “It is crucial to maintain the positive prospects for steady growth and to invest in the development of year-round connectivity, which will bring multiple benefits to our country.”

Cyprus’ Cow Farmers’ Coordination Committee and the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in Cyprus, Nikolaos Isaris discussed during a meeting they had in Nicosia critical issues surrounding the production of halloumi cheese and the conditions imposed by European Regulation 591/2021, which registers halloumi as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).

According to the Regulation, the production of halloumi must be carried out under the same standards and conditions throughout Cyprus, regardless of the market destination. However, the farmers pointed out that the cheese produced in the Turkish-occupied territories of the island and bearing the name “Halloumi” does not abide by the PDO specifications, and therefore cannot bear the official name “Halloumi – Hellim”.

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During the meeting, the European Union’s position that the production of halloumi can be a bridge of cooperation between the two sides of Cyprus, helping to build a climate of mutual trust, was underlined. Therefore, it was proposed to find a common formula for the production of the product by both communities, and the EU’s assistance in this direction was requested.

The producers are asking the EU and the Republic of Cyprus for equal treatment of the dairy sector both in the government-controlled and occupied areas of the island, pointing out that the same conditions and criteria for the production of halloumi should be applied on both sides until a final solution is found and the reunification of the island is achieved.

At present, they say, there is unequal treatment between producers in the government-controlled and occupied areas. While producers in the occupied territories can trade halloumi without restrictions on the use of goat and sheep’s milk in third countries, producers in the government-controlled areas are subject to strict adherence to quotas on the milk mix and PDO specifications, regardless of the destination of the product. This, they argue, increases production costs and creates conditions of unfair competition.

Cypriot MP Christiana Erotokritou stressed the importance of public investments for Cyprus due to the disproportionate immigration and demographic pressures the country is facing and the adverse effects of climate change. 

Erotokritou who is the President of the Cyprus House  Finance and Budget Committee, intervened in Budapest during a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the European Union.

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In her intervention regarding Cyprus, she noted that the country is on a steady path of public debt reduction, maintaining healthy fiscal surpluses, however, it presents a large current account deficit.

She pointed out that the country-specific recommendations of the European Commission for Cyprus highlight the imperative need for full and timely implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan to reduce the country’s excessive dependence on oil and accelerate the completion of the necessary reforms and investments.

In this context, Erotokritou said it is important to have public investment for Cyprus due to the disproportionate immigration and demographic pressures the country is facing and the adverse effects of climate change.

Erotokritou stressed that the key challenge is to balance fiscal discipline and sustainable development, ensuring that fiscal responsibility, sustainable development and social cohesion go hand in hand and that the economic governance framework contributes to addressing current and emerging challenges of the EU and shaping a more hopeful future for all European citizens.

Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Nicodemos Damianou, and  Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, Toshiko Abe, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation aimed at strengthening relations between Cyprus and Japan in the fields of science and technology, both at the transnational and the European level, during an official visit Damianou paid to Kyoto.

According to a press release issued by the Deputy Ministry, the expansion of Cyprus-Japan relations in the fields of science and technology was the focus of Damianos’ official visit to Kyoto.

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In the framework of bilateral contacts with the Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed to strengthen relations between Cyprus and Japan in the fields of science and technology, both at the transnational and the European level, it is stated.

Specifically, the press relese added, the memorandum promotes, among other things, the joint implementation of research and innovation (R&I) projects on issues of common interest, the mobility of scientists and the exchange of know-how and expertise between the academic and research communities of the two countries.

In his remarks, the Deputy Minister, after congratulating the Japanese Minister on her recent appointment, referred to the importance of the Memorandum as a tool for transferring know-how from a mature ecosystem – such as that of Japan – to the emerging – but highly dynamic – ecosystem of Cyprus.

He also touched on the cooperation prospects within the European Framework Programme Horizon Europe, with Japan being already at an advanced stage of consultations with the European Union (EU) for joining the programme as an associate member.

The Deputy Minister, the statement added, also participated in a ministerial roundtable on Transformative science, technology and innovation policy to strengthen innovation ecosystems, which was attended by Ministers and senior officials from various countries around the world, including Japan, Canada, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, Norway, Finland, Germany, Finland, Lithuania and the United Kingdom, with the participation of an EU representative.

As stated, the Summit was held in the context of the 21st Annual Meeting of the STS Forum, which brings together prominent political, business and academic figures to exchange views on strengthening the science and technology sectors and their impact on the global economy and society.

In his intervention, the Deputy Minister referred to Cyprus’ ascending performance in European and international R&D indicators, which puts the country for the third consecutive year in the top 10 strong innovators in Europe and 27th globally in terms of innovation (Global Innovation Index 2024), it is added.

Subsequently, the Deputy Minister stressed the need to create a favourable environment that encourages and facilitates innovation, underlining the importance of access to financial tools and skilled human resources, as well as providing incentives for investment in R&D.

Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ravken won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

KEY FACTS

• The prize was awarded to them by the Royal Carolina Medical and Surgical Institute for the discovery of microRNA and its role in gene regulation announced the general secretary of the Nobel Committee, Thomas Perlman, quoted by BTA.
• This year, the monetary value of the prize is 11 million kroner (about US$985,000). It was shared between the two laureates.
• Victor Ambros was born in 1953 in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. In 1979, he received his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he also conducted postdoctoral research from 1979 to 1985. In 1985, he became a principal investigator at Harvard University. In the period 1992-2007, he was a professor at the School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, and he is currently a professor of natural sciences at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
• Gary Ravken was born in 1952 in Berkeley, California, USA. He received his PhD from Harvard University in 1982. From 1982 to 1985, he worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1985, he became a principal investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where he is currently a professor of genetics.
• Last year, Catalin Carrico and Drew Wiseman won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries related to modifications of nucleotide bases that allowed the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

TANGENT

The first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded in 1901 to Elim Adolf von Behring of Germany “for his work on serum therapy, especially for its application to diphtheria, thereby opening a new path for medical science and giving physicians a victorious remedy against sickness and death”.

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Among the more famous scientists who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine are: Ivan P. Pavlov (Russia) /1904/, Robert Koch (Germany) /1905/, Alexander Fleming (Great Britain) /1945/, George Biddle (USA) , Edward Tatum (USA), Joshua Lederberg (USA) /1958/ and others.

Nobel week begins in Stockholm, during which the winners of the prestigious awards will be announced.

KEY FACTS

• Traditionally, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine opens the announcement of the prestigious honors today. In the following days – on October 8 and 9, the laureates for physics and chemistry, respectively, will be announced.
• The Nobel Prize for Literature will be announced on October 10.
• The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday, October 11, in Oslo.
• The economics award, which is not among the original awards, is on October 14.
• The laureates will receive their awards at ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo, traditionally held on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The distinction in each of the categories can be awarded to a maximum of three people. The award consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a cash prize, which this year has been increased by one million Swedish kroner and will amount to 11 million Swedish kroner (US$986,000).

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KEY STORY

At the request of Alfred Nobel (1833 – 1896), the prizes he established were for the most important discoveries in the field of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, for remarkable literary achievements, and for activity in the interest of world peace.

The first Nobel Prize was awarded in Saint Tropez in 1901 – five years after the death of Alfred Nobel.

The automotive sector in Cyprus is witnessing a marked increase in both sales and service costs, according to recent data. This trend reflects broader economic shifts impacting the country, as well as a resurgence in wholesale trade, driven by changing consumer demand and global economic conditions.

Sales of motor vehicles have continued to climb throughout 2024, with higher demand leading to increased prices for both new and used cars. Several factors contribute to this surge, including persistent inflation, rising production costs, and global supply chain disruptions. These challenges, compounded by the limited availability of certain vehicle models, have resulted in higher prices, putting pressure on consumers.

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Vehicle servicing costs have also seen a notable uptick, further burdening car owners. The rise in maintenance expenses can be attributed to the increasing cost of spare parts, many of which are imported and affected by supply chain issues. Additionally, the global shortage of semiconductors—vital components in modern vehicles—has significantly driven up repair costs for electronic systems, which now play a critical role in most automobiles. This has made routine services, as well as more complex repairs, more expensive than in previous years.

The automotive industry’s inflationary pressures are not limited to Cyprus; these trends mirror global challenges, where many countries are facing similar cost increases. The international market volatility, exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine, has led to fluctuations in fuel prices, further impacting vehicle ownership and operational costs.

In parallel, Cyprus is also seeing a rise in wholesale trade activity, which has recorded significant growth in recent months. The wholesale trade sector, benefiting from an increase in consumer demand across various industries, is playing a crucial role in supporting the country’s economic recovery. The expansion of wholesale trade is closely linked to sectors like retail, construction, and agriculture, which are seeing renewed investment and growth. As supply chain disruptions gradually ease and inventories stabilise, businesses are looking to wholesale traders to provide the necessary goods to meet rising consumer needs.

The strengthening of the wholesale trade sector suggests a broader positive trajectory for the Cypriot economy. However, challenges remain, particularly for industries that rely heavily on imports, as they continue to face higher input costs. Businesses are increasingly having to navigate these rising costs while trying to keep prices competitive, a delicate balancing act that requires strategic planning and efficiency improvements.

Cyprus is set to deliver a fiscal surplus of €1.13 billion in 2025, equivalent to 3.3% of GDP, according to the state budget presented to the House of Representatives on Thursday. The budget outlines an overall increase in revenues of 6.2% in 2025, with a slight 1.2% reduction in expenditures compared to 2024.

Total state expenditure for 2025 is projected at €12.93 billion, encompassing debt repayments, interest, and investments. The breakdown includes €3.53 billion for the Fixed Fund, €7.85 billion in regular expenditures, and €1.55 billion for development expenses. This represents a slight decrease from the €13.1 billion allocated in 2024.

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In terms of revenues (excluding financial flows), the government forecasts a 6.2% increase, bringing the total to €10.31 billion in 2025, compared to €9.71 billion in 2024. The main sources of revenue will come from direct and indirect taxation, estimated at €8.48 billion—or 82% of total revenues. The remaining 18% will be generated from non-tax income, including the sale of goods and services, rental income, and transfers.

Direct tax revenues are projected to rise by 4.9% to €3.92 billion, while indirect taxes are expected to increase by 5.6%, totalling €4.56 billion. Non-tax revenues are forecast to see a significant 10.3% increase, reaching €1.83 billion.

While there is a slight 1% decrease in personnel-related expenditures, totalling €3.62 billion in 2025, operational expenditures are expected to surge by 21.4%, reaching €1.42 billion. This is attributed to increases in reserve funds, defence, policing, and consulting services.

Transfer payments—including social benefits, grants to public and private organizations, and contributions to the EU budget—are expected to grow by 5.3%, reaching €3.99 billion. The largest increases in 2025 will be in contributions to the General Healthcare System (GeSY) and social security funds.

Capital expenditures, which cover co-financed projects, land and equipment purchases, and building renovations, are projected to rise by 4% in 2025 to €1.14 billion. Meanwhile, debt service expenditures are expected to fall by 18.6%, dropping to €2.75 billion in 2025 from €3.38 billion in 2024.

Steady growth until 2027

Looking at key economic indicators, the Cypriot economy is expected to grow steadily through 2027. GDP for 2025 is projected at €33.86 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3.1%. By 2027, GDP is forecast to reach €37.54 billion, with growth rates of 3.2% and 3.3% in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

Unemployment is set to decline from 5.0% in 2024 to 4.5% by 2027, while inflation is expected to remain stable at 2.0% annually from 2025 to 2027. The fiscal surplus is forecast to remain strong, at 3.3% of GDP in 2025, declining slightly to 3.1% by 2027.

The primary surplus is expected to reach 4.8% of GDP in 2025 and stabilize at 4.4% by 2027. Meanwhile, public debt as a percentage of GDP is projected to decline from 69.3% in 2024 to 64.2% in 2025 and 53.5% by 2027. Capital expenditures are expected to peak at €1.39 billion (or 4.1% of GDP) in 2025, before dropping to 3.1% of GDP by 2027.