Suspected recipient in €8 million cash case remanded (Updated)

The Larnaca district court on Friday issued a five-day remand against a 43-year-old man who was arrested on the same day for being the suspected recipient of millions of euros brought to Cyprus since August 2023 by a 31-year-old woman from Ukraine.

He will go on trial on March 20 at 10am.

The suspect is under investigation for several offenses, including conspiracy to commit espionage, money laundering, participation in criminal activities, participation in a criminal organisation and conspiracy to commit a crime.

The woman, who is accused of transferring a total of €8 million to Cyprus in recent months, appeared before the Larnaca district court on March 7 and was ordered to remain in custody until April 17, when she will appear before the criminal court to respond to 60 charges related to money laundering.

The woman was arrested for money laundering and remanded after reporting that she had been robbed of €420,000 in cash.

According to reports, testimonies were obtained that, before police arrived at the scene, the woman entered a restaurant and handed a paper bag containing money that had fallen to the ground during the robbery to an unknown person, allegedly the 43-year-old man who was arrested on Friday.

Before his remand, his lawyer Antonis Demitriou requested access to all evidence in the case, specifically the audiovisual footage from surveillance cameras that reportedly showed him collecting the money from the woman.

However, she has so far refused to name the person to whom she allegedly handed the money.

“Unfortunately, the police are now presenting non-existent and unsubstantiated cases in court to divert public attention from other huge problems resulting from the incompetence of certain officials or policemen,” Demetriou argued in court.

“Loading courts with cases only to have suspects acquitted essentially shifts blame to the courts, which is both unjustified and violates the basic rights of the accused, but also undermines the essence of our democracy, namely justice.”

The case is also being investigated by the anti-money laundering unit (Mokas).