The Turkish Cypriot property management service admitted on Wednesday to allocating over 150 million square metres of land to a member of staff, saying this was 30 years ago and in line with procedures in place at the time.
Responding to allegations voiced at the House refugee committee on Tuesday, the service said that following instructions issued by Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou, in his capacity as guardian of Turkish Cypriot properties, these contracts were terminated in 2024.
Referring to the specific member of staff, whose family benefited from 150,412,000 square metres of Turkish Cypriot land, the service said the employee had already retired and retained 31,000 square metres of land for agricultural use.
The service pointed out that its current practice was zero tolerance for any phenomena of corruption, mismanagement or violation of prescribed procedures.
“We remain at the disposal of the MPs and the citizens to inform them in a transparent manner. All complaints submitted to the service with specific evidence are investigated and all appropriate measures are taken to restore legality, wherever and whenever needed,” it said.
The service said this was a good opportunity to showcase “our continuous effort to eradicate such phenomena, in the framework of proper management and effective protection of Turkish Cypriot property, to the benefit of refugees”.
“Populism and unfounded public references, aimed at creating impressions, without the submission of specific evidence to the service for investigation, do not help the effort we are making to crack down on these phenomena,” it added.
On Tuesday, Direct Democracy MP Demetris Souglis alleged that officials of the service themselves owned plots and homes, saying this could disadvantage genuine beneficiaries. He also called for an investigation.
The complaint echoes earlier concerns over the management of Turkish Cypriot agricultural land, as in areas such as Polis Chrysochous, non-refugee farmers have cultivated thousands of acres of Turkish Cypriot land while receiving agricultural subsidies.
Under new arrangements set out by the interior ministry, farmers using such land must have written agreements to establish their eligibility for subsidies, with non-compliance potentially resulting in the loss of payments.
Turkish Cypriot properties were placed under state guardianship after the 1974 invasion, with the government allocating abandoned homes and land to Greek Cypriot refugees, although subsequent reforms allowed some properties, particularly in isolated villages, to be leased to non-refugees under specific conditions.
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