MAFIA STATE PROBE FINDINGS TO BE ANNOUNCED AFTER ELECTIONS - Cy Mail 25/2 Rebekah Gregoriades
New delays in delivering the last part of a report by the authority against corruption on Mafia State – a book by investigative journalist Makarios Droushiotis – are expected to be announced on Thursday.
Although the final version will probably be ready before the parliamentary elections, the findings of the report will be made public after the vote, so it is not construed as an effort to alter the result.
The deadline for presenting the findings of the probe – during which former president Nicos Anastasiades was investigated – has been extended by a further two months, according to Politis.
So far, investigators have delivered four of the five parts of the findings, with the fifth – considered to be the most important – expected to be ready by April 20.
The authority against corruption, Politis said, intends to make an announcement on Thursday, explaining that delays were due to health issues faced by two of the four investigators, appointed two years ago.
The findings to be published after the parliamentary elections is expected to include the main findings of the investigation and the authority’s suggestion regarding any criminal offences allegedly committed by Anastasiades, in which case the findings will be sent to the state Law Office for further investigation.
If the findings are indeed sent to the legal service, then attorney-general George Savvidens and deputy attorney-general Savvas Angelides should not be involved in the case in any way, as they served as ministers in Anastasiades’ government and were appointed to their current posts by the former president himself.
Anastasiades considers he has already responded to the allegations made in Mafia State in his own book The Sycophant, the title referring to Droushiotis, whom he has sued for €2 million for defamation.
Thus the anti-corruption authority’s report will be decisive regarding the outcome of the court case against Droushiotis.
In the framework of the authority’s investigation, 129 individuals from Cyprus and abroad were called to testify, among whom former and incumbent officials, including President Nikos Christodoulides.
The authority has gathered over 550 pieces of evidence corresponding to over tens of thousands of pages.
