Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris steps down to ease probe of financial crisis

NICOSIA, Cyprus – Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris has resigned after an investigation was ordered into how the country’s economy nearly collapsed last month.

The government said Tuesday that President Nicos Anastasiades accepted the resignation of Sarris, who has faced strong criticism for his handling of the Cyprus’s negotiations with its international creditors.

Sarris, who had headed the country’s troubled Laiki Bank last year in a bid to save it from collapse, told reporters he decided to step down to ease the investigation ordered earlier Tuesday.

Cyprus has been given a €10 billion bailout by its European partners and the International Monetary Fund, after its bloated banking sector threatened to destroy the economy.