Cyprus Mail 18 May 2023 - by Jonathan Shkurko
The Cyprus medical association on Thursday was looking into disciplinary procedures for a father-son doctor duo who were arrested for collaborating to illicitly grab money off Gesy.
The father, 62 was expelled from Gesy two years ago, but continued to carry out surgeries under his son’s name. He was remanded at Nicosia district court for eight days on Wednesday.
His son was also arrested in relation to the case on Thursday.
A complaint filed by the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) accused him of performing medical procedures under the name of his 38-year-old son, also a doctor, to collect money off the National Health Scheme Gesy.
The father was expelled from Gesy in 2021 for a separate case of malpractice. He will now have to answer to charges of extortion by false representation, circulation of forged documents, conspiracy to commit a felony and corruption.
The court heard that while performing surgeries outside Gesy, the 62-year-old claimed financial benefits from the national scheme using his son’s name.
The HIO examined a total of around 170 cases for which claims were submitted by his son’s medical practice, amounting to approximately €60,000.
According to police spokesperson Christos Andreou, the 62-year-old doctor was arrested on Tuesday at Larnaca airport immediately after landing in Cyprus from abroad. He had an outstanding arrest warrant issued against him.
“He is also still facing another case registered in court, for which he was excluded from Gesy,” Andreou said.
“In this case, he was using the name of the other doctor, a relative of his, claiming that it was him who performed medical procedures in order to obtain payment from Gesy.”
Meanwhile, the Pancyprian Medical Association’s chairman of the ethics committee Michalis Anastasiades issued a statement expressing regret for the private doctor’s actions.
“We have learned through reports on the media that a doctor has been arrested in connection with an investigation involving allegations of embezzlement with false representations, circulation of forged documents, conspiracy to commit a felony and corruption offenses.”
“The Pancyprian Medical Association has already sent a letter to the police in order to be informed about the matter and to examine, at the appropriate stage, the possibility of activating the relevant internal disciplinary procedures based on the provisions of the existing legislation.”
