Cyprus courts dole out convictions to cowboy estate agents

A string of dodgy real estate agents were handed convictions by the island’s district courts in 2022 for illegally practicing without a licence, according to the Real Estate Agents Registration Council on Friday.

In the council’s announcement, it said its website will publish, at regular intervals, the names of the convicted natural and legal persons who have been brought to justice and convicted.

“These are involved in 17 cases, in which six legal entities and 13 natural persons were convicted of illegal real estate,” the announcement said.

Five convictions against four natural persons and one legal person related to offences committed in the Limassol district, another five convictions, involving three legal and three natural persons, were handed down by the court for offences committed in the district of Paphos, it added.

Meanwhile, there were three convictions against three natural persons and one legal person concerning offences committed in the Nicosia district, while an equal number of convictions were recorded in the Larnaca district, which concern two natural persons and one legal person, and one conviction for an offence committed in the Famagusta district, concerns a natural person.

“We believe that in this way we strengthen the toolbox of measures against illegals, protect citizens, our profession itself, but also the sources of revenue of the state”, the council concluded.