A Cypriot court on Thursday found a former CEO of Bank of Cyprus guilty of market manipulation shortly before the island's banking system almost collapsed in 2013.

The court ruled that Andreas Eliades had deceived shareholders on the actual capital shortfall of Bank of Cyprus (BoC) at an AGM in June 2012.

BoC as a legal entity was also found guilty of failing to give a clear picture of the bank's financial situation, although four other former senior officials were acquitted.

Cyprus is recovering from a financial crisis that left a number of its top banks insolvent and forced it to negotiate a harsh bailout with international creditors.

In March 2013, Cyprus clinched a 10-billion-euro ($11.7 billion) loan from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to bail out its economy and bloated banking system.