Berova: The Number of Stolen Vehicles Has Decreased with the Mechanism We Established

In his speech at the podium of the Republic's Parliament, Finance Minister Özdemir Berova explained that a mechanism was established to address the issue of 61 vehicles imported into Northern Cyprus in the last two and a half years being identified as stolen. He emphasized that this mechanism has led to a significant decrease in the number of stolen vehicles entering the country.

Berova mentioned that the second-hand vehicles imported into Northern Cyprus arrived on the island about three years ago, were not detected by the state at that time, were cleared through customs, licensed, and started to be used.

He noted that the owners of these vehicles, when crossing to Southern Cyprus, were detected, and the vehicles were seized, causing some citizens to be victimized.

Berova stated that they contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant authorities in England regarding this issue. Following discussions with Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, an identification study was conducted, resulting in the establishment of a mechanism.

He highlighted that with this mechanism, imported vehicles are subjected to serious scrutiny regarding documents, personal numbers, and images, leading to a dramatic decrease in the number of stolen vehicles.

Berova mentioned that the work on this issue is ongoing, stating, "The mechanism we established identifies stolen, cloned, and financed vehicles."

He also noted that they received information from the prosecutor's office regarding this issue, stating, "We informed that if the rightful owners of the stolen vehicles apply here, we will return the vehicles to them."