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Paralimni mayor gives auditor-general power of attorney, says if guilty would drive himself to jail

Paralimni Mayor Theodoros Pyrillis

In a dramatic move on Thursday, Paralimni mayor Theodoros Pyrillis gave the auditor-general a power-of-attorney to access his personal financial information, adding that he’d drive himself to jail if he thought he was guilty of what he was being accused of.

It happened at the House watchdog committee, where Pyrillis and auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides were going at it for the umpteenth time – a row between the two that has lasted almost a year.

The controversy relates to a damning report released by the Audit Office last September detailing a litany of irregularities and failures at Paralimni municipality – including not keeping track of construction work within its jurisdiction, wasted money, unlawful interventions on the coast, and possible embezzlement.

At the time the Audit Office said some of its findings could point to criminal offences. When the report came out, Pyrillis called it “obscene.”  He described the publicity surrounding the report as “personal bullying” and that it had “ulterior motives and objectives.”

The report covered goings on at the municipality over a 10-year period.

Pyrillis was elected mayor of Paralimni ιn 2011. He won a second term in December 2016.

In parliament on Thursday, the mayor again categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Rejecting the corruption allegations, he then produced a document – a power-of-attorney he was granting to the auditor-general, giving the latter access to information on immovable property he owns here or overseas, access to information about his bank accounts, as well as access to information on any companies in which he holds a stake.

To show he was serious and wanted to clear his name, Pyrillis said the power-of-attorney would remain in effect for up to five years after he’d leave his mayoral post.

Going on the offence, he slammed Michaelides for being reckless with his public remarks. Whenever the auditor-general audits a Politically Exposed Person, he opined, he should adhere to the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’. But Michaelides had a habit of doing the opposite.

“When you hear everything that’s being said, you get to wonder if you should be in your place or think of yourself as the most corrupt person in the country, and whether you ought to drive yourself to the Central Prisons,” Pyrillis remarked.

If the allegations about him had any truth to them, he added, “I should go to jail.”

“I am no thief,” he added, adding that he always sought to do his job to the best of his abilities and for the benefit of his constituents.

Pyrillis mentioned that back in 2018 a bomb was planted at his house, and that it was by sheer luck that his son was not killed.

Despite the fact that police found DNA traces on the explosive device, they never properly followed up the case, he claimed.

Turning to the accusations against him that he was covering up corruption at the municipality, Pyrillis brought up the matter of a municipality tax collector who had allegedly embezzled €110,000.

The auditor-general says Pyrillis delayed reporting the matter to police.

Responding on this, the mayor said that overtures were made to the tax collector to return the money, and the collector – realizing his scam was uncovered – obliged.

Later, and once the moneys were recovered, the matter was reported to the police, while the tax collector in question was fired.

Had they gone straight to the police instead, Pyrillis said, they might never have tracked down the missing amount.

Countering, the auditor-general insisted that all his data was correct. He went through some of his major findings on Paralimni municipality – hotels that made renovations or expansions, including adding floors, without having the required building permit; in another case, a permit was issued for the construction of 21 residences, whereas in the end 30 residences were built, some of them in designated ‘green areas’.

The auditor-general also found major flaws with the municipality’s internal audit procedures and practices, as well as its failure to take an inventory of immovable assets within its jurisdiction.

In one year alone – 2014 – the lack of checks resulted in a loss of €57,000 in immovable property fees.

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