Filenews 17 February 2026 - by Ioanna Mantziipa
They paid thousands of euros to come to Cyprus and work as domestic workers, but it seems that they were deceived by their compatriot and 44-year-old woman. The case concerns three women from India, who were arrested last week on suspicion of illegally staying in Cyprus with false documents. As it was found, the women had been registered as domestic workers to employers they never met, while they had been in the country illegally since 2024. The three Indian women were released and went from suspects to complaining.
As they claimed, for their arrival in Cyprus they paid two persons amounts ranging from €7.000 to €12.000, with the promise that they would be guaranteed work as domestic workers. The three women said that all the arrangements for their arrival were made by two specific persons acting as "agents" and residing in Cyprus.
During the investigation, it was not found that the foreigners are victims of human trafficking, however, they resided illegally in Cyprus and worked illegally as domestic workers in Limassol.
The investigators of the TAE Limassol proceeded to arrest a foreigner the day before yesterday, while on Sunday the 44-year-old woman was also arrested, who seems to be involved in the whole trick against the three women. The 44-year-old was brought before the Limassol Court on Monday morning for the issuance of a temporary detention order for six days, with her lawyer, Sylvia Adamou, not objecting. The offenses of conspiracy to commit a felony and extortion of property by false representations, which were allegedly committed from September 2024 to February 2026, are being investigated against her.
One of the three complaining Indians reported that while she was in India, she paid the amount of €12.000 to an associate of her compatriot to arrange her arrival in Cyprus. As she claimed, her purpose was to work in a restaurant, which never happened. According to the complaint, when she arrived in Cyprus, the suspect forced her to pay rent for her stay, while she also paid money for alleged social security contributions, but this has not been done.
In her testimony, the second complainant claimed that the suspect arranged her arrival in Cyprus, while she paid him the amount of €7.000 through remittances, giving an additional €127 per month for social insurance without working. He also stated that the suspect introduced her to the 44-year-old as his partner, who asked her for the amount of €4.000 to renew her residence permit. After paying her off in October 2025, the suspect told her that she would be employed by a specific person, who had never actually been her employer. Later, the 44-year-old allegedly told her that her residence permit had been cancelled
Upon arrival in Cyprus, the three women were found to have applied for work permits as domestic workers with three different employers. At the same time, they claimed that they were informed by the suspect that he secured them an "Open Visa" type residence permit, but without having a designated employer, which does not exist in Cypriot law.
