Lawyer Achilleas Demetriades called for sweeping reforms to Cyprus’ anti-corruption framework, arguing that the independent anti-corruption authority must be given greater powers to act.
Speaking on Wednesday, he further stressed that an independent prosecutor should be appointed alongside any criminal investigators examining allegations levied at former president Nicos Anastasiades.
His intervention came after the government announced plans to appoint independent criminal investigators following findings by the anti-corruption authority in the Mafia State case, which is expected to be referred to the legal service in the coming days.
“The anti-corruption authority is toothless, and we should give it teeth,” Demetriades said, describing the current framework as inadequate for handling complex corruption investigations.
He argued that appointing independent investigators alone would not resolve concerns surrounding the handling of the case, particularly after attorney-general George Savvides and deputy Savvas Angelides recused themselves from involvement because of their connections to the Anastasiades administration.
According to Demetriades, a conflict of interest extends beyond the two senior officials and affects the institutions themselves within which the investigation will proceed.
He stressed that his comments were not directed at the competence or integrity of legal service personnel.
“The problem will still exist,” he said, referring to a situation in which independent investigators ultimately report their findings to the attorney-general’s office.
“From now on, they must not only appoint independent investigators, but also appoint an independent prosecutor, who will direct the investigations and advise, since at the end of the day they will be the one to present the case to the court.”
Demetriades suggested that the attorney-general could appoint the Australian judge, Gabrielle McIntyre and three Cypriot members of the investigative team, Charilaos Chrysanthou, Orestis Nikita, and Andreas Efthymiou, which prepared the anti-corruption authority’s findings, arguing that they are already familiar with the evidence and issues involved.
If such appointments are not made through the legal service, he said, the cabinet could appoint independent investigators, although it does not possess the authority to appoint a prosecutor.
He also used the occasion to renew calls for legislative reform of the authority, arguing that the body currently lacks the powers required to carry out comprehensive investigations without duplication by other institutions.
“The investigation should be done once, we should incur expenses once and we will be finished in half the time,” he said.
Demetriades further argued that the debate has brought renewed attention to Article 113 of the constitution, which governs the powers of the attorney-general.
He said dozens of legislative proposals aimed at reforming the relevant framework had previously been prepared but were never advanced despite political commitments.
The government’s announcement followed remarks by government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis, who confirmed that cabinet intends to appoint “an independent criminal investigator or investigators” to examine allegations arising from the anti-corruption authority’s report.
Letymbiotis said the government’s position remains that “every serious point mentioned in the report must be subject to due, full investigation through the competent institutional procedures and without any deviation from the rule of law”.
The anti-corruption authority’s full report is expected to be submitted to the legal service next week, after which the government intends to proceed with the appointment of independent investigators.
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