Israeli land developer Simon Aykut, who was arrested in early June and is accused of having developed and sold €43 million worth of property on Greek Cypriot land in the north, answered “no” to all 242 charges read against him in court on Thursday.

Prosecutor Andreas Aristides read the indictment in Nicosia criminal court, which took 50 minutes.

Aykut is being charged inter alia with the illegal transaction, possession and use of property, legalisation of income from illegal transactions and conspiracy to commit a crime.

Each case concerned property worth from €100,000 to €2 million.

Aykut’s lawyer Maria Neophytou said her client requested a 40-day postponement as he intended to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights questioning, inter alia, the jurisdiction of the court examining his case.

The prosecution objected, saying that if anything arose during proceedings it would be examined.

Judge Christiana Parpota, presiding over the court, dismissed the request.

The hearing has been set for March 26 at 9am.

The defence objected to the prosecution’s demand that Aykut remain incarcerated until the hearing, as in the meantime he had been diagnosed with cancer by a British specialist.

However, Aristides said that, although Aykut had indeed been examined, the specialist did not diagnose cancer, but another condition for which Aykut was prescribed medication.

Furthermore, the central prisons’ doctor, who had found Aykut to be in perfect health, failed to testify in court on Thursday due to illness.

The court will convene again on Friday for doctors to testify, after which the criminal court would decide whether Aykut should remain incarcerated until March 26.