Man remanded in theatre embezzlement case

Limassol district court on Tuesday remanded a 61-year-old man in custody for seven days on suspicion of embezzling about €235,000 from Pattihio municipal theatre.

The suspect, reportedly the theatre’s former director, was arrested on Monday following an audit report which showed a deficit of €234,550.

The theft, which was reported by Limassol mayor and chairman of the theatre’s board Nicos Nicolaides, appears to have taken place between 2017 and 2020.

As it emerged from the investigation, the 61-year-old was the person responsible for collecting the money for the theatre productions. It appears however, that he withheld the entertainment tax before depositing the money in the company’s account, local media reported.

According to reports, the director had resigned from his post at the theatre several months ago, after the discovery of a deficit of about €10,700.

He had allegedly admitted to having taken that amount citing financial issues and has since returned €3,000.

Meanwhile, the process to hire a new director has been underway since the summer.