The trial of the two former MPs facing criminal charges over a report by Al Jazeera into the alleged illegal naturalisations of people as citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, commonly known as the ‘golden passports scandal’, continued on Friday.
Former House president Demetris Syllouris and former Akel MP Christakis Giovani are both facing charges including conspiracy to subvert the Republic and influencing a public official, in violation of the laws criminalising corruption.
Friday’s hearing saw Paralimni-based accountant Nikitas Charalambous called as a witness. He informed the court about a number of applications with which he had been informed, walking the court through various contacts he had had with Syllouris’ former son-in-law Savvas Poyiadjis.
On this point, defence lawyer Chris Triantafyllides pointed out that in Charalambous’ written statement, he had said Poyiadjis “has” a family relationship with Syllouris, and said this is incorrect.
This is because Syllouris’ daughter Demetra Syllouri has since divorced Poyiadjis, with Triantafyllides describing the pair’s current relationship as “bad”.
The case will continue on May 29.
Al Jazeera aired an almost hour-long exposé of the scandal in October 2020, prompting Syllouris and Giovanis to both resign.
In the documentary, undercover reporters played the role of agents acting on behalf of a fictional Chinese businessman with a criminal record, aiming to secure him Cypriot citizenship.
Syllouris, Giovanis and others were shown offering to help the man in his quest for citizenship despite his criminal record.
The government of the day then scrapped Cyprus’ citizenship by investment scheme, with the European Union having launched legal proceedings over claims the scheme had been used to sell passports to dubious individuals.
A subsequent inquiry found that 53 per cent of 6,779 citizenships granted through the scheme were unlawful, with the government since having commenced the process of cancelling the citizenship of some naturalised through the scheme.
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