Shots were fired at the house of a tycoon who was widely blamed for the closure of budget air carrier Flyglobespan.

Cypriot police confirmed that shots had been fired at a residential property owned by the parents of E-Clear CEO Elias Elia. Some of Elia’s friends believed that the assault was a reminder that Flyglobespan’s debt is already long overdue.

Elia’s business empire closed earlier this year with debts of over £100 million, including the £35 million that E-Clear had withheld. The debt had forced the Scottish airline to stop its business late last year, leaving more than 500 people jobless and thousands of travellers stranded. E-Clear administrators said that Elia’s company has currently no immediate source of funding.

A report said that Elia was shocked of the attack on his parents’ house. He usually stayed at the flat when he was managing his businesses in Cyprus, which includes the land development firm Elian.

It was known that at the beginning of last year, Elia’s company was highly successful. Last accounts showed that his business had even made revenues of more than £5 million.

E-Clear was previously handling the online tickets sales of several low cost airlines, but in 2008, the aviation industry began to struggle. Several of E-Clear’s largest customers, including UK holiday giant XL, Canadian airline Zoom and Slovakian budget carrier SkyEurope, were severely hit by the economic crisis.

Police informed that Elia’s house, just above a post office in Nicosia, was also attacked earlier in February 2009. The case has never been solved.