Bribery & Corruption

Acted as prosecutor in one of the most historic cases of corruption in Cyprus. A major Cypriot law firm and the deputy attorney general were accused.  The parties were found guilty of bribing and sentenced to prison. The case was handled at courts of first instance, appeal and through Habeas Corpus procedure.

You can read the official court decision of first instance (in Greek) here. 

Acted as defense – The case was concerning the acquisition of an office building by the pension fund of the publicly owned Cyprus Telecommunications Authority at a price of €20 million, a price several times the open market value. The charges included corruption of a public official, accepting bribes and legalizing ill-gotten gains, forgery of documents, fraud, abuse of a public official’s fiduciary duties and obtaining money by deceit.

You can read the official court decision of first instance (in Greek) here. 

On another case, one of the largest Property Developing companies in Cyprus, as well as the largest private landowner and a former Paphos municipal engineer – allegedly conspired to defraud the public in a land-zoning project of land to be turned into 177 residential plots by reducing the legally-designated green areas. They were charged with forgery – of Land Registry plans and the project’s planning permit – as well as the circulation of forged documents, and securing a building permit under false pretences. Acquitted both at trial of first instance and appeal.

You may find the link to the court decision of first instance here.

Acted as defense – 

Acted as defense – The case involved two former mayors, one of whom was a Member of Parliament, and town councilors, for alleged corrupt dealings of the Paphos Sewerage Board (PSB). Bribes were allegedly paid by private contractors to PSB members in order to secure construction and waste-management contracts. According to the prosecution, between 1999 and 2003, while serving as Paphos mayor, one of the defendants received a considerable sum from a German company in order to secure the award of substantial contracts.

Acted as defense – On another case, a former mayor, a waste management company and the operator of two landfills allegedly  had overcharged municipalities by reporting higher waste volumes while public officials looked the other way in return for backhanders. The charge sheet contained 83 charges relating to conspiracy to defraud, bribery, unlawful acquisition of property, abuse of power, favouritism, money laundering, and obtaining money under false pretences. Our firm, representing two of the suspects, persuaded the court to acquit the first and impose a suspended sentence on the other. 

Representing the Head of ENT UNIT (otolaryngologists) of the General Hospital of Nicosia and Larnaka, who had been facing 188 counts in connection with bribery, money-laundering, corruption, and conspiracy, over the period from 2008-2016.

Representing the former head of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA), before Nicosia District Court facing charges of corruption and bribery. The defendant was accused of seeking and accepting a kickback of €30,000 in exchange for granting a company a license to build and operate a private power station in Mari.