The trial concerning the high-profile ‘golden passport’ case involving former transport minister Marios Demetriades and several others has been postponed until April 25, the Nicosia Criminal Court ruled on Tuesday.
The case, initially scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday morning, was set for the accused to respond to the charges against them. A total of ten individuals – eight natural persons and two legal entities – are facing 59 charges. These include influence peddling, bribery, corruption, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and violations of the council of Europe convention on corruption.
Besides the former transport minister, the accused include Andreas Demetriades, Dimitris Demetriades, Giorgos Demetriades, Eleni Simillidi, Jing Wang, Josef Friedrich Santin, Vasiliki Georgiou-Santin, the law firm Andreas Demetriades & Co LLC, and the company Delsk (Cyprus) Business Services Ltd.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, lead prosecutor Andreas Aristides informed the court that two defence lawyers had requested additional evidence from the attorney-general.
“The material is being prepared and will be delivered by the middle of next week at the latest,” he said.
In response, defence lawyers unanimously requested a postponement to allow time to examine the new evidence. They also urged the prosecution to confirm that all relevant material – including telecommunications data and witness statements – had been submitted in full.
After reviewing the request, the court granted the adjournment and scheduled the next hearing for April 25 at 9.30am.
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