Legal expert Gabrielle McIntyre, appointed to investigate corruption claims against former president Nicos Anastasiades, will be supported by three Cypriot lawyers with no conflict of interest, the anti-corruption authority announced on Tuesday.

McIntyre’s name was made public as the lead of the team on Monday.

The three lawyers that will accompany McIntyre will be Charilaos Chrysanthou, Orestis Nikitas, and Andreas Efthymiou, the anti-corruption authority said.

According to their statement, the investigation into the claims made against Anastasiades in the book ‘Mafia State’ by Makarios Drousiotis has already begun, and McIntyre is expected in Cyprus on March 3 to further examine the material.

The statement concluded saying that the authority will not comment on the process of the investigation to date.

McIntyre is an international legal practitioner, jurist and served as the chairperson of the Seychelles’ Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission. She is an expert in international legal practice, international humanitarian law, international criminal law, human rights law and administrative law.

She managed legal proceedings for judges of the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) at all stages of proceedings, including pre-trial, trial and appeal, and has extensive experience with international court practice and common and civil law procedural rules.

The anti-corruption authority was set up a year and a half ago to investigate corruption cases involving current or former state officials and civil servants, and is also poised to tackle claims publicised in Makarios Drousiotis’ book Mafia State which points a finger at Anastasiades among others.

On Monday, Anastasiades welcomed McIntyre’s appointment.

“The findings will need to be made public,” he said.

Two days earlier, Drousiotis had gone on social media to say he rejected requests by Anastasiades’ lawyers for his books to be withdrawn and an apology to be drafted.

According to his post, “On the eve of the launch of the investigation [against Anastasiades], I received a letter from the law firm of Andy Triantaphyllides, which, together with the office of Theodoros Economou, represents Anastasiades. The former president, through his lawyers, is demanding the withdrawal of my books, an apology and damages!”