Pafos Live 27 June 2024
A search of two premises where there was information about the operation of electronic gambling machines was carried out last night by members of the Pafos police.
Both premises operate as bookmakers. In one, nothing was found, while in the second, 11 computer towers were found that are suspected of being converted into gaming machines.
The computers have been confiscated and the store manager has been summoned to the police for questioning.
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Police acted immediately following the Supreme Court's decision to reissue arrest warrants against five people wanted by the United States for serious financial fraud.
As police spokesman Christos Andreou told Filenews immediately after the reversal of the decision by which the five were released, new warrants were issued for their arrest.
Officers located and arrested the four, while the fifth accused, a British man, has so far not been located. The Police continue their investigations to locate him, while it is not excluded that an international arrest warrant will be issued against him if required.
The five people had been arrested in Cyprus for investigating financial fraud in the US, with a view to extradition, but were later released by a Supreme Court judge. Last Thursday the full bench of the Supreme Court accepted an appeal by the Attorney General and new arrest warrants were issued against them.
The case came to light when U.S. authorities requested the extradition of five people, three foreigners and two Cypriots, for offenses involving conspiracy to commit fraud using new communication technologies, conspiracy to commit money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
As had been said in the decision of the Supreme Court Plenum, for the purpose of implementing their illegal activities, they had opened an account with a bank operating in the occupied areas.
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The case of theft of money and gold over €200,000 from a luxury residence of Ukrainians in Pervolia, Larnaca, two years ago has come to a close.
The defendant in the case was the family's personal cook, a 54-year-old man from Bulgaria, who was sentenced on Wednesday to 6 years in prison by the Larnaca Permanent Assize Court.
The 57-year-old was found guilty after a court hearing on charges of theft and money laundering. Specifically, he is accused of abusing his employer's trust and snatching from his home $100,000 and €45,000 in cash, as well as gold and valuables worth more than €80,000.
The theft case had been reported in July 2022 to the Larnaca Police by a 51-year-old lawyer from Ukraine, who had twice served as an MP in his country before moving to Cyprus. The complainant had from the first moment expressed suspicions about his cook, who had been hired a month before the theft and had disappeared from the house.
The examinations carried out at the time revealed that the suspect had crossed into the occupied area from the Ayios Dometios barricade at noon on July 15, 2022. Police located his vehicle near the barricade and in it were found earrings and other gold of thousands of euros, which were identified by the complainant's wife. A European arrest warrant was issued against the accused and on 1 September 2022 he was arrested in Tbilisi and subsequently extradited to Cyprus.
As prosecution witnesses in the case, handled by the lawyer of the Republic Marios Koutsoftas, a total of 17 persons testified. Among them was the complaining owner of the residence, whose testimony was judged to be absolutely reliable by the Permanent Assize Court.
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Rapid developments are expected for next week regarding the scandal at the Habakkuk Monastery, since yesterday's meeting at the Legal Service marked the course that things will take.
"F" reports that a great effort will be made so that with the expiration of the new 8-day detention decree of the abbot of the Monastery, who is suspended, Archimandrite Nektarios, the case will be registered in Court. According to our information, four persons, three monks and one civilian, will be accused in this case. All are expected to face serious offences including conspiracy to commit a felony, forgery, money laundering and VAT offences.
This, however, will be the first act of the great ecclesiastical scandal, as the investigations of the four echelons of the Police continue and developments are expected.
The investigations have involved Value Added Tax officers who dust out vouchers and documents to determine whether VAT was paid, or whether the proceeds were declared to Income Tax. As the Court has been formally told, amounts of up to €1.1 million have been identified without being declared and their origin is being examined.
Also, investigations are carried out on the contributions of believers without giving the corresponding price promised by the abbot of the Monastery, while the focus of the investigations is also on the operation of the pastry shop and bakery in the Monastery and whether the income from them was declared.
The issue of responsibilities arising from the operation and processing of material from the closed circuit surveillance that operated in the Monastery remains open. In this regard, the Commissioner for Personal Data has attributed responsibilities to two monks, Nektarios and Varnava and to Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamassos.
The latter is expected that within the next few days, he will be called to be questioned by the Police, both in relation to the processing of material from the closed circuit of the Monastery, as well as for other cases under investigation that arose from the events of March 5, when, as the monks claim, masked men invaded the Monastery on his orders and what followed in the Metropolis.
From interrogation to interrogation, Nektarios
Yesterday, the Nicosia District Court renewed for another eight days the detention order of the suspended archimandrite of the Avvakoum Monastery, Nektarios.
The suspect was represented in the proceedings by his new lawyer Efstathios Efstathiou, after the departure of his until recently lawyer Andriana Klaides. Mr. Efstathiou objected to the further detention of the monk, arguing that the time elapsed during the first decree was not used by the investigators, while his further detention is not needed. He even asked a series of questions to the police investigator, Sergeant Major Panagiotis Panagiotou, about how many statements were taken in the eight days that the suspect was detained, from which persons and what witness material remains.
The investigating judge told the court that the suspected archimandrite was questioned four times, namely on June 19, 20, 21 and 25. In the first two interrogations, he gave answers (in fact, the second interrogation lasted 8.30 hours) but when he changed lawyer he exercised his right to remain silent and has not given any further answer to the investigators' questions.
Another 45 statements will be taken in the case, while as the investigator said the day before yesterday, four persons from Nektarios' entourage were summoned for questioning, who, however, exercised their right to remain silent and did not answer questions. The investigating judge said that since June 14, a preliminary report of the Income Tax has been provided to the Police from which criminal offences appear to emerge, while documents relating to 19 people for VAT offences are being evaluated. Finally, he said that so far 110 deposits have been received and another 45 remain.
The Court, after a break, considered that the time elapsed during the first 8 days of detention had been duly utilized by the Police and pointed out that the investigative work remains complex. He disagreed with the defence's position that interrogations should take longer or that the investigation team should work 24 hours and issued the requested decree after finding that there was a risk of influencing witnesses because they were close to the archimandrite.
The investigators informed the General Prosecutor
At 11.30 yesterday morning, investigators staffing four different teams engaged in investigating aspects of the high-profile case of the Holy Monastery of Avvakoum in Fterikoudi, went to the Legal Service to inform the heads about the progress of the investigations.
The members of the Police informed the Attorney General about the more than 110 statements received on the financial and not only aspect of the case, 63 of which after the arrest of Nektarios.
During the meeting at the Legal Service, all the issues that remain open were raised and it was decided to take decisions as soon as there is a clear picture of both the financial aspect of the case, as well as the complaints of monks against people of the diocese or complaints of believers against monks.
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Arson occurred at dawn on Thursday in the area of Agios Dometios, in Nicosia, mobilizing the Police.
Specifically, the arsonists targeted a motorcycle repair shop. According to the Police, at 01:30 in the morning a fire broke out outside the premises in Agios Dometios, resulting in damage to two vehicles and a motorcycle.
The intervention of the Fire Brigade was needed to extinguish the fire, and as everything shows, it is a malicious act.
Members of the Police rushed to the scene to investigate the case. A 61 year old man has been arrested.
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A light sentence was imposed by the Larnaca District Court on a 39-year-old police officer, who was found guilty of causing a fatal accident two and a half years ago, while participating in an operation of YKAN.
The fatal car accident occurred on January 16, 2022 and the victim was 70-year-old Alain Merhege from France, a permanent resident of Cyprus, who had walked his dog. The defendant was sentenced by the Larnaca District Court to... a fine of €2,500, six penalty points and deprivation of his driving license for one month starting today.
It is noted that at the time in question the police officer was serving in the Anti-Narcotics Agency. According to the facts of the case, on January 16, 2022, the accused participated in a YKAN operation and was driving a service car on the Agia Anna-Psevda road. At some point on the road he dragged the 70-year-old who was trying to cross on foot.
Shortly before, the victim's daughter and wife had crossed the road, testifying that the driver of the car that dragged the 70-year-old was traveling at high speed.
The elderly man was taken seriously injured to hospital and lost the battle for life a few days later. After a court hearing, the 39-year-old police officer was found guilty of causing death by reckless, dangerous or reckless act, which carries up to four years in prison.
Great weight in the decision was played by the statements of the victim's wife and daughter, which were judged to be credible by the Larnaca District Court.
It is noted that police officers who testified at the trial had asked for the police officer to be prosecuted only for... negligent driving, while the defendant's Commander also testified in camera.
