Filenews 1 July 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivassilis
Two criminal cases were registered before the District Court of Nicosia by the Police, in relation to the complicity with the imported vehicles that were declared as unused/undamaged, so as not to reduce their value.
Five natural persons, including an officer of the Department of Road Transport, are being prosecuted for the two cases. The searches covered more than 10 vehicles, which according to the accompanying documents, were imported into Cyprus mainly from Britain used/damaged, but were declared as new in order to avoid any losses in their value. These vehicles were repaired in garages here and were normally sold as unused/undamaged, as a result of which the buyers, who believed that they were buying an unused/undamaged vehicle, were fooled.
An investigation carried out at the TFT found that the ownership documents of these vehicles nowhere indicated that they were entered as used/damaged. As a result, while less money was paid for the purchase and transport of the vehicle to Cyprus, they were eventually sold as unused/undamaged without "losing" their value.
Charges are pending against the defendants relating to the offences of conspiracy to commit a felony and misdemeanour, abuse of power, issuance of false certificates by public officials, neglect of official duty, forgery, circulation of false documents and securing registration with false representations, committed between 2021-2022.
The case was investigated by members of the Anti-Crime Department (Businesses) and took statements from TFT officers related to the registration of vehicles, from importers and body shops. The action of the persons allegedly involved was revealed last March by a senior officer of the Department of Road Transport, who was then targeted by arsonists, after having two vehicles 'fired' that were parked outside his home in Lakatamia. On the issue, the Minister of Transport, Giannis Karousos, had stated that the state will stand by the TOM officer who fell victim to arsonists.
