Author to testify against ex-president over corruption allegations

Author Makarios Drousiotis will be giving testimony on Tuesday on claims of corruption against former president Nicos Anastasiades made in his book ‘Mafia State’.

The author has been called to testify to investigators of the anti-corruption authority, who are examining the claims he made in his book.

The investigating team is made of up one international legal expert, Gabrielle Louise McIntyre, and three Cypriot lawyers Charilaos Chrysanthou, Orestis Nikitas, and Andreas Efthymiou, the anti-corruption authority had previously said.

McIntyre has been in Cyprus since March 25, looking into the allegations.

She had also come to Cyprus earlier in March, where for a period of six days (March 3 to 9) she had contacts with her colleagues to prepare their research project as best as possible.

The four investigating officers have an expanded scope as to their investigation, based on the terms of their mandate.

Prior to the investigators’ arrival, the authority itself had read Drousiotis’ book and divided into chapters and subchapters each case that emerged.

Anastasiades had previously welcomed the appointment of McIntyre.

He had said that what should frighten Drousiotis is the deliberate distortions of texts, contradictory and untrue claims, and self-contradictions, as well as the evidence that will be presented to the authority and the court, “which will refute his malicious and slanderous lies one by one”.

“I am sure, as a lover of truth, he [Drousiotis] will also have the audacity to reveal his fictions to both the anti-corruption authority and the court,” Anastasiades said.

Drousiotis had previously said that Anastasiades’ legal team had allegedly tried to intimidate him.

He had gone on social media to say he rejected requests by Anastasiades’ lawyers for his books to be withdrawn and an apology to be drafted.