The foreign and local experts that will undertake investigations in the controversial ‘golden passports’ issue have been named by the independent authority against corruption in an announcement on Thursday.
According to the announcement, the two foreign experts will be George Kampanella and Tanveer Qureshi, while the Cypriot solicitor on the team will be George Liasides.
Commenting on the matter two months ago, when it was confirmed two British experts would join one local expert in investigations, head of the authority Charis Poyiadjis said: “There was a reluctancy to find Cypriot experts. We reached out to some people excellent in their field, but you know Cypriot society.”
Poyiadjis was referring to an unspoken fear of being the lawyer or auditor to investigate the links between conflicts of interest surrounding former President Nicos Anastasiades and the golden passports.
The team is currently investigating two cases which are expected to be concluded as soon as possible.
“This investigation will not span an endless amount of months, it will be efficient,” Poyiadjis said.
In their announcement on Thursday, the authority said that the selection criteria required candidates to demonstrate skills and competence in conducting investigations but also ensure they were in position where they could independently investigate cases free of any actual or apparent bias.
Kampanella is a partner at Taylor Rose MW Solicitors, based in the City of London.
His family originates from the village of Patriki in the district of Famagusta, but they immigrated to England in the 1950s and he himself was born and raised in England.
Kampanella has expertise in representing individuals and corporations subject to investigations and prosecution by Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Crown Prosecution Service-Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate, (SEOCID) His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Trading Standards and the National Crime Agency in allegations of complex and serious fraud, money laundering, bribery and corruption.
He also manages highly complex cross-border investigations in various EU and non-EU jurisdictions, with a proven track record of success.
Qureshi is a barrister and a member of 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square in London.
He has appeared before all levels of courts in England and Wales and is frequently instructed, as lead counsel in cases involving allegations of fraud and bribery.
Also, he has appeared in cases prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs as well as commercial cases involving financial wrongdoing.
Qureshi’s cases have involved allegations of financial mismanagement arising from the commercial and banking sectors. He has appeared and defended in electoral fraud cases and has been a speaker at seminars dealing with electoral fraud and bribery.
The Cypriot expert, George Liasides is an English qualified solicitor and Cypriot based lawyer since 1994. He is the managing director of George Liasides LLC and he deals with a wide spectrum of cases.
In their announcement, the authority also stated: “For transparency reasons, it should be mentioned that the law firm in which Mr Liasides is a managing director has handled, in total, five passport applications during the Cyprus Investment Programme but none of these cases is referred to in the reports made by the Inquiry Commissions which were appointed to investigate the programme.”
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