Fifty-two-year-old property developer Ahmet Noyan appeared in court in Trikomo on Wednesday after having been arrested on suspicion of negligence after one of the many buildings constructed by his company in the area caught fire at the weekend.

Noyan was arrested on Tuesday alongside two other directors of the Noyanlar group, which describes itself as “a market leader in Cyprus’ construction industry”.

The arrests came after a fire broke out at the Riverside Life Residence, a complex featuring over 800 holiday apartments across five tower blocks in Trikomo’s Long Beach area, on Sunday evening.

In total, 50 people were evacuated from the building, though no serious injuries were recorded. The trio were charged and released on Wednesday.

The Noyanlar group reportedly employs more than 1,500 people, and is one of the major names in construction in the north, particularly in the Trikomo area. The Riverside Life Residence is one of 28 construction projects undertaken by the group.

Noyan himself was called as a prosecution witness in one of the cases brought against the five Greek Cypriots who were arrested in the north in July last year, when the five faced charges of trespassing, breaching the peace, and privacy violations following a day trip to the area.

All five Greek Cypriots were eventually released in December last year.

It had been reported in April last year that Noyan had been refused entry to the United Arab Emirates over his alleged construction of buildings on land belonging to Greek Cypriots in the north.

The reports stated that he is on a list of people banned from entering the UAE, though this was never confirmed.