Filenews 28 April 2022 - by Natasha Christoforou
The tangle of fraud case against an American businessman in Ayia Napa, who gave more than half a million dollars to a British man, for allegedly chartering an aircraft, for transporting associates from Belarus to Georgia, began to unravel. It was found that the suspect asked for five times the money for the "charter" of the aircraft, than the normal price.
The 50-year-old Briton, a resident of Larnaka, who allegedly attempted to exploit the unsettled situation caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, had been arrested and was in three days' detention. On Tuesday, his detention order expired, he was released on parole and once the examinations are completed, he is expected to be charged before a Court.
Investigators in the case have begun to complete the puzzle of the case and are awaiting evidence from companies in Minsk and Tbilisi, cities in which the 50-year-old Briton claimed to have taken steps to transfer the businessman's associates.
The suspect and the American businessman met in Ayia Napa, where they had docked their boats. The businessman had told him that he wanted to move the base of his planning company to Georgia, for fear of imposing sanctions on Belarus, which sided with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. The suspect then claimed to be involved in the purchase and sale of aircraft, saying he is conducting special operations to repatriate foreigners from war zones.
The businessman initially gave him the sum of $168,220 for the charter of an aircraft. However, the Briton, making various claims, did not implement their agreement and asked the businessman for another $398,000, supposedly to allow the transfer of his associates.
The complainant agreed, but set conditions with which the suspect disagreed, which began, according to the Police, to threaten him. He even allegedly made death threats, saying he has a pistol, photos of which he sent to the businessman, who was forced to pay the rest of the amount.
Police investigations have shown that the suspect is indeed the owner of a company in Britain, which is not involved in buying and selling aircraft. It is noted that the American businessman, finally managed to carry out the transfer of his partners to Georgia, through another company, paying about €90,000.
