On Sunday, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said that he does not know anything about the ties of the Bank of Cyprus, in which he worked back in the day, with the persons, put under US sanctions.

During the live broadcast on CNN Channel, Ross was asked if the bank had any ties with some persons from black lists, when he was the part of the composition of the management board, RIA News reports.

“This is a very complicated issue, because the bank had USD billion loans, which were disbursed long before it started having problems and I started working there”, Ross answered. According to him, “the study of all names, which can disburse loans, is not productive”.

“However, I cannot say that neither of loans, which I approved, were tied to the persons, put under sanctions”, he assured.

Ross also specified that all loans in the Bank of Cyprus were approved by the special committee, the member of which he is. “Neither of these loans, about which I know, did not originate from the persons, put under sanctions”, he said.

Ross also said that he does not know anything about the fact that the bank disbursed loans to the election campaign team of US President Donald Trump.

In 2012, the Bank of Cyprus became the focus of the debt crisis that broke out in the country. A year later, for saving the situation the authorities of the island agreed to the formula of uninsured deposits cuts, suggested by the European Group and the People’s Bank of Cyprus.

Ross came to the Bank of Cyprus in 2014. He headed the group of investors, which acquired shares for the amount of USD 400 million. Then he also jointed the management board, where some Russian entrepreneurs worked with him.