An investigation will be made into possible criminal activity on the part of former transport minister Marios Demetriades over the matter of faulty airbags in Cyprus and their import into the country, according to reports on Monday.

Newspapers Phileleftheros and Politis both reported that Demetriades was one of the three people against whom the committee formed to investigate the history of faulty airbags in Cyprus recommended criminal charges, with the others said to be former ministry permanent secretaries.

The recommendation for a criminal investigation comes after Demetriades had told the committee in May that he was unaware of the issue surrounding faulty airbags. However, it is said that others’ testimony has cast doubt on the veracity of what he said.

These doubts are said to be related to a circular issued by the road transport department in 2017 on the matter of faulty airbags and the import of ‘grey vehicles’.

Incumbent Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades had told the committee the circular had “exempted distributors from any responsibility” regarding ‘grey vehicles’ and the recall thereof, “without defining an alternative mechanism for informing the owners”.

Committee chairman Michalakis Christodoulou had said upon the committee’s report’s submission on Friday that “with the 2017 circular, the road transport department exempted distributors from liability for used vehicles but did not say how the problem would be resolved if a recall occurred”.

Demetriades served as transport minister between 2014 and 2018, and was as such in post when the circular was issued, but had told the committee he had no knowledge of it.

This claim is set to be investigated, especially as incumbent permanent secretary George Louca had said that Demetriades not only knew about the circular, but that he had also participated in its formulation.

Louca had told the committee that “some instructions were also given by [Demetriades] on various issues related to this specific issue”.

If it is found that Demetriades was aware of the issue of faulty airbags as early as 2017, questions may be asked as to why he did not act on that information, particularly given that three accidents involving faulty airbags, two of which were fatal and one of which left its victim with life-altering injuries, occurred after the circular was issued.

Those three cases involved Alexandros Lougos, who has undergone 21 surgeries to restore his face since an accident in 2017, and the deaths of both Styliani Giorgalli last year and Kyriakos Oxinos in 2023.

If Demetriades does face a criminal investigation, it will not be the first time. Last month, he and eight other defendants pleaded not guilty to charges he faces in relation to “suspicious” naturalisations of new Cypriot citizens under Cyprus’ citizenship through investment scheme, commonly known as the ‘golden passport’ scheme.

The issue of airbags stems from the production of faulty airbags by Japanese company Takata. The company’s airbags suffer a fault related to exposure to high levels of heat or humidity, which means they have a tendency to explode when released under such circumstances.

This explosion shoots the airbag’s metal inflator outwards and in the direction of the person it was designed to protect, potentially causing further injuries or, in some cases, death.

With the committee’s report now in the hands of Attorney-General George Savvides, he will study its findings and decide whether or not any criminal or disciplinary offences were committed, and whether the committee’s recommendations for future safeguarding and oversight should be implemented.

Christodoulou said on Friday that in light of those three incidents, “we base our assessment on the actual context of whether it is established that there were criminal offences committed”, and that “the committee’s response is positive”.

“We have presented the findings of our investigation. The attorney-general is responsible for whether to adopt the recommendations, and the courts are the final judge,” he added.

We found a possibility of there having been an abuse of power, a homicide, causing death due to a reckless act, and serious injury to Alexandros Lougos.”