Friction flared up in parliament on Monday after the head of the anti-corruption authority declined to commit specifically to investigating former president Nikos Anastasiades in relation to the ‘golden passports’ affair.

Transparency Commissioner Harris Poyiatzis, who also heads up the anti-corruption authority, was taking questions from MPs during a review of the authority’s budget for 2025.

Almost half of the authority’s budget – €1 million – concerns expenses for paying investigators.

Poyiatzis was asked directly by Akel MP Christos Christofides whether the authority would investigate the former president as part of a probe into the now-defunct citizenship-for-investment scheme – colloquially known as the ‘golden passports’ affair.

Responding, Poyiatzis said the probe would commence soon. On Anastasiades, he said that at the initial stage at least, he would not be investigated because the decisions on the passports were taken by the cabinet, where Anastasiades – as president then – did not have a vote.

The answer angered the Akel MP, who pointed out that the cabinet was itself appointed by Anastasiades. He also said that a law firm bearing Anastasiades’ family name had promoted the issuance of 57 such ‘golden passports’ during Anastasiades’ presidency.

Christofides cited further the findings of the commission of inquiry, chaired by Myron Nikolatos, which had rebuked Anastasiades.

He then asked whether Poyiatzis should be more “careful” in his public comments on the issue, since it was Anastasiades who had appointed him to the position.

Miffed at the MP’s insinuation, Poyiatzis stressed that the anti-corruption authority would “spare no one”.

He said the investigation into the passports would go ahead and, if along the way evidence comes up against Anastasiades, the former president would be investigated.

The complaint against Anastasiades in relation to the passports had been filed to the anti-corruption authority by Akel’s Christofides back in December 2022.

Christofides asked the body to look into a possible conflict of interest and graft, given that 57 of these passport applications by foreign nationals had been processed by the former law firm of Anastasiades – now run by his partners and his two daughters.

Beyond that, former auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides had determined that Anastasiades was connected to ‘golden passports’ given to the extended family of a Saudi sheikh by the name of Abdul-Rahman Khaled Salem bin Mahfouz.

Here, six of the passports involved the actual applicants – the foreign investors – but 36 more subsequently granted to members of their families.

The sheikh in question was the same who had let Anastasiades and his family fly on his jet for free for a trip to the Seychelles.

Media reports meanwhile suggested the former president could find himself in hot water with the anti-corruption authority in relation to a separate case – the allegations against Anastasiades made in a book published by a well-known researcher.

Titled ‘Mafia State’, the book by researcher Makarios Droushiotis alleges corrupt practices and graft by the former president and his entourage.

According to Politis, the hearings into this case will commence very soon, while the probe itself could be completed by year’s end.

The daily said that Anastasiades would be summoned to testify – perhaps for as many as seven sessions. He would be questioned by Gabrielle Louise McIntyre, an international legal practitioner and jurist.

Anastasiades has sued the book’s author for defamation, seeking €2 million in damages.

To date, the anti-corruption authority has received 230 complaints from persons identifying themselves, plus 85 anonymous complaints. It has also initiated three ex officio investigations.

The authority does not have criminal investigatory powers. It may summon witnesses, but their testimony may not be used as evidence in a court of law. The findings are forwarded to the attorney-general’s office which then decides whether to instruct police to carry out a criminal probe.