Filenews 15 September 2023
The trial of the kidnapping and murder case of 31-year-old Angelos Pericleous was postponed until December 11 by the Permanent Assize Court of Nicosia.
The reason for the postponement concerns the scheduling of cases by the Court of Justice.
A 25-year-old man, his 71-year-old uncle and his 59-year-old mother are charged in the case.
Both his 25-year-old and 71-year-old uncle remain in custody, while his 59-year-old mother remains free on parole.
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A new case of internet fraud and theft of a large amount of money is being investigated by the Police. The perpetrators, by sending a false e-mail to a Cypriot company, managed to extort a sum of money amounting to more than €80,000.
The case was reported today to the ICF of Nicosia by an employee of the Cypriot company.
According to the complaint, the Cypriot company placed an order via emails for the purchase of products from a partner of the company based abroad. On 5 September, the Cypriot company received an email stating that the money to pay for the products should be deposited by wire transfer to a bank account, different from the account to which payments were previously made for the purchase of products.
Following the instructions received via email, the Cypriot company proceeded to transfer an amount of €80,279 to the bank account mentioned in the message. Later, however, it was found that the bank account did not belong to the partner company and that the relevant message received by the Cypriot company had been sent from another email address, which also does not belong to the partner company.
The case is being investigated by the Financial Crime Investigation Office of the ICF of Nicosia.
On the occasion of this new case of fraud, the Police recommend to the public and especially to traders, as when they receive such messages, before proceeding with any payment, to always verify the message, through telephone communication with their partner suppliers. For such communication, a telephone number with which the two sides have been in contact again or indicated in messages exchanged between them in previous transactions should be used.
Company owners or directors are encouraged to inform their company's staff about this form of fraud and to implement procedures to verify the payment requests they receive.
More information on this form of fraud, as well as tips on how the public can avoid fraud, is published here.[in Greek - English below]
Fraud through invoices and other documents By Department of Communication (Ast. 3336) October 1, 2021 A frequent form of fraud is the so-called fraud through invoices. In this particular case, the fraudster approaches a business and, pretending to be a supplier or service provider, asks to change information for future invoice payments. In other words, he requests that the details of the payee's bank account be changed and that any new payments be made according to the new details. Of course, the new proposed account, given to the business/victim, belongs to the scammer. The approach to the business can be done by phone or by letter or by e-mail, or even in other ways. What can you do; As a business: -Make sure employees are informed and aware of the specific form of fraud and how to avoid it. -Implement a process to verify the legitimacy of the payment requests you receive. -Check the information posted on your business website, specifically your contracts and suppliers. -Ensure staff limit disclosure of business information on social media. -Instruct staff responsible for paying invoices to always check for irregularities.
As an employee:
-Contact the actual suppliers of the business and verify that all payment requests come from them, especially if they ask you to amend their bank account details for future payments of invoices or other documents.
-In your communication with the suppliers, do not use the contact details included in the letter/fax/e-mail in which the change of details is requested. Instead, use the contact information from your previous correspondence with the supplier.
-Designate unique points of contact with businesses that you make payments to at regular intervals.
-Limit the information you share about your employer on social media.
-For payments that exceed a certain amount limit, establish a process to confirm the correct bank account and recipient (eg contact the business).
-When you pay an invoice, send e-mails informing the recipient of the payment. On it write the name of his bank and the last four digits of his bank account to secure the transaction.
Always report any suspected attempted fraud to the Police, even if you have not sent any money to this new account.
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The Pafos Assize Court yesterday sentenced a 30-year-old man to 12 years in prison after finding him guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit a felony, illegal importation of drugs and money laundering.
The convicted man was arrested on June 10, 2023, when he arrived in Cyprus, through Paphos airport, after a check carried out on his luggage by the Department of Customs and Excise in cooperation with the Paphos YKAN, found approximately 19 kilos of cannabis, as well as one kilogram of cocaine.
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The two siblings, who were arrested for the murder of 42-year-old Nikos Angelis, who died at Nicosia General Hospital, have been indicted in a direct trial before the Permanent Assize Court, which will meet on October 6 at Famagusta Court in Paralimni.
The 42-year-old faces a charge of murder and his 32-year-old sister a charge of written death threats. The court ordered the 42-year-old to be held in custody pending trial, while the 32-year-old was conditionally released. Specifically, she was given a bail of €20,000 by a creditworthy guarantor in order to be released.
The 42-year-old allegedly confessed to beating the 35-year-old at his home on August 29, claiming he went to ask for an explanation because his sister was being harassed. The defendant claimed that he argued with the victim and that he hit him with his hands, causing him to lose his balance, fall and hit the back of his head. The 32-year-old sister was initially arrested after threatening text messages were found towards the victim.
The 35-year-old was found bleeding at his home by relatives. He was initially transferred to Larnaka Hospital and when it was found that he suffered a skull fracture he was rushed to Nicosia General Hospital, where he breathed his last.
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An undeclared sum of money, amounting to €45,000, was found in the luggage of a passenger at Paphos airport.
According to an announcement by the Department of Customs, on Monday, September 11, the Department of Customs, following information received from the Police, checked the luggage of a passenger who was going to depart from Paphos Airport to Stansted Airport in the United Kingdom.
Inside his luggage was found the amount of €45,000 in cash, which the passenger failed to declare.
The entire amount of money found was confiscated for further investigation by the Department of Customs and Excise to determine whether it is the product of illegal activities.
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