The creation of a new national fund for the loss of use of properties in the occupied areas is expected to play a decisive role in halting, or at least significantly curbing, the sell-off of Greek Cypriot land in the north through Turkey’s so-called Immovable Property Compensation Commission, which claims to have already distributed €620 million to Greek Cypriot applicants.
The issue will be examined on Tuesday by the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees, based on a bill submitted by DISY. The proposal provides for the establishment of the fund to support property owners who have been deprived of access and use of their land since the 1974 Turkish invasion and occupation.
€620 million paid out through the Turkish "compensation committee"
According to figures released in May by the head of the committee, Novber Ferit Vechhi, a total of 8,151 applications have been filed by Greek Cypriots. Of these, 2,040 were examined, resulting in compensation of £535 million sterling (€620 million). In some cases, the committee approved the return of property, while in others it authorized exchanges or both compensation and restitution. The so-called “finance ministry” of the breakaway entity is responsible for payments, which Vechhi said have been made in about two-thirds of approved cases.
One high-profile case concerned the heirs of Christos Saveriades, a Greek Cypriot refugee. The family agreed to a £9 million settlement for the loss of use of their property in Famagusta, which included a four-bedroom apartment and the private “Centre of Higher Studies,” illegally converted into the Eastern Mediterranean University. The settlement was concluded in November 2024 and executed in April 2025, according to the family’s lawyer, Achilleas Demetriades.
A precedent in the 2013 banking crisis
Lawmakers point to the precedent of the 2013 banking crisis, when Cyprus established a National Solidarity Fund to support depositors and bondholders affected by the collapse of Laiki Bank and the restructuring of Bank of Cyprus. Finance Minister Makis Keravnos announced in June that €100 million will be allocated to that fund in 2025.
The DISY proposal
The DISY proposal, submitted to parliament in July and referred to the Refugees Committee for debate, is signed by MPs Giorgos Karoullas, Onoufrios Koullas, Nikos Georgiou, Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis, Marios Mavrides, and Rita Superman. It will be reviewed at the committee’s first meeting after the summer recess, scheduled for Tuesday, September 2.
The bill calls for the creation of a public legal entity with the capacity to acquire, manage, and allocate resources. According to its drafters, the goal is to provide fair financial support to displaced property owners, not as compensation for loss of ownership but for decades of lost use and exploitation of their assets. “This is about equitable financial support, not giving up property rights, but addressing the deprivation of use,” MP Giorgos Karoullas stressed.
How the fund will operate
Under the draft law, the fund’s resources will come from:
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A levy of 0.40% on property sales and transfers of shares in companies owning real estate;
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State grants;
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Income from the use or exploitation of assets acquired by or transferred to the fund;
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Investments in shares, bonds, securities, or other financial instruments;
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Donations or contributions, which will be tax-deductible at twice their value;
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Unused allocations from the annual budgets of the Central Equal Burden Sharing Agency and the Service for the Care and Rehabilitation of Displaced Persons;
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Any other potential source.
Oversight and management
The fund will be overseen by a management board chaired by the director-general of the Ministry of Finance. Members will include the Accountant General and Deputy Accountant General, two senior finance directors, representatives of the Legal Service, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Equal Burden Sharing Agency, and the president of the Pan-Cyprian Refugees Committee.
The fund will also be subject to audit by the Auditor General of the Republic.
