Cyprus' top lawyer seeks criminal probe in bank's demise

Cyprus' attorney general's office says it has asked police to launch a criminal investigation against officials whose actions contributed to the demise of the island nation's Co-operative Bank.
The Attorney General's Office said Friday its assessment of the findings of an inquiry into how the bank unraveled merits a criminal investigation.
Among the issues investigators are asked to look into are the actions of officials employed at 27 local Co-ops, the writing-off of millions worth of bad loans, interest rate overcharging, spending by executives, as well as a deal with a Spanish company to manage bad loans.
In its findings, the inquiry faulted senior executives for bad judgment, inaction and ineptitude in dealing with a mountain of bad loans, while blaming the finance minister for failing to take corrective actions.

[AP]