Filenews 15 July 2025 - by Angelos Nicolaou
The case of the dangerous Takata airbags takes a new turn, as the circular of the Department of Road Transport (TOM), dated March 21, 2017, returns to the center of the public debate, which, as recorded in the conclusion of the Investigative Committee, marked a key policy change around the recalls of used vehicles in Cyprus.
This specific circular, which was sent to the Association of Importers of Motor Vehicles (SEMO) in March 2017 and bears the signature of the then officer Yiannis Nikolaidis on behalf of the then director of the TOM, Sotiris Kolettas, clarifies that the distributors of manufacturers in Cyprus bear no responsibility for vehicle recalls.
This position was a key change from the practice that had been in force until then, as it effectively renounced the role of the state and agents in handling security crises, such as that of Takata's defective airbags.
The element that causes particular impression and concern is the notification of this circular to the then Director General of the Ministry of Transport, Alekos Michaelides, a point that is explicitly recorded both in the document and in the testimony of Mr. Nicolaides to the Investigative Committee.
However, Mr. Michaelides himself, in an official statement that followed yesterday's publications about possible criminal liability, denies any knowledge or involvement. As he said, "I never had knowledge or involvement in the formulation of the letter/Circular of March 17, 2017" and adds that he saw it for the first time in May 2025 when he was called to testify to the Investigative Committee. At the same time, he claims that the circular was never registered with the Ministry, with a competent official informing him that it was not found in the official registers.
"I saw this Circular for the first time in May 2025 when I was summoned to testify to the Investigative Committee," he clarified.
As Mr. Michaelides characteristically stated, he contacted the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works twice and a competent official assured him that the letter in question was never received by the Ministry. Specifically, he referred to me, he added, that "On the instructions of the director general, we made all the files of the Ministry sheet and there is no such letter". Nor, he underlines, is there such a letter/Circular in the relevant official record book ("Registry") of the archive, where all letters received at the Ministry are registered.
I understand, Mr. Michaelides concluded, that the Investigative Committee took this letter/Circular of the TOM seriously in order to reach its conclusions.
Nevertheless, the Investigative Committee in its conclusion clearly attributes knowledge and possibly participation to the Ministry for the formulation of the circular. Specifically, there is a testimony of both Mr. Nicolaides and the director of the TOM, Giorgos Loukas, that the Ministry of Transport not only had knowledge of the circular, but had also given "instructions" for its formulation, on points concerning the recalls and the responsibility of the distributors. The Commission even suggests that this dimension may be the subject of a criminal investigation for possible abuse of power, pursuant to Article 105 of the Criminal Code.
Dangerous omissions and chronic inaction
The report outlines a dangerous and distorted perception that prevailed in the TOM during the period 2013-2023, that essentially the role of the Department in cases of recalls was limited to the communication of owners' data to distributors, while the risk assessment and responsibility for actions had to be left exclusively to the manufacturer. A stance that was reportedly adopted, despite the fact that the Ministry and the TOM had received repeated alerts from the Consumer Protection Agency as early as 2013 about the dangers of Takata airbags.
Furthermore, they had received letters from citizens in 2015 and 2016 on the same issue. According to the Law on the Type Approval of Vehicles (L.61(1)/2005), they had a legal obligation to take immediate corrective measures when a safety risk was identified. Nevertheless, as the report concludes, the TOM has shown "inexcusable inaction and indifference".
The Ministry's silence and SEMO letters
A previous letter from the Association of Importers of Motor Vehicles (SEMO), from November 2016 to the then Minister Marios Dimitriadis, urgently raised the issue of recalls for vehicles outside the EU, stressing that Cypriot representatives do not have information on recalls of such vehicles, which poses serious risks. Following the Minister's orders, the then general director (Alekos Michaelides) and the director of the TOM (Sotiris Kolettis) were invited to take a position on the issue. In March 2017, the TOM sent the disputed circular, formally introducing the new recall policy.
