Filenews 8 July 2026
The presence and action of the Police last night was intense, throughout Cyprus, with organized patrols in key points of urban areas, with the aim of preventing serious criminal acts, ensuring public order and increasing the sense of security of the public.
As a result of the preventive police operations, twelve persons were arrested for various offenses, such as theft, robbery, illegal stay in the Republic, traffic offenses, etc.
As part of these operations, during the night, 582 drivers and 206 passengers were stopped and checked. At the same time, 40 inspections were carried out in premises with the aim of dealing with phenomena of delinquency, during which two complaints emerged.
During traffic checks carried out, 331 complaints were made, concerning various traffic violations, while 13 investigated cases of traffic violations also emerged.
Of the complaints made, 77 concerned exceeding the speed limit, while as part of the police examinations, 13 vehicles were detained. 90 alcohol tests were carried out, from which 2 complaints emerged, as well as 3 preliminary drug tests with 2 positive results.
Policing operations, for the prevention and suppression of crime, continue daily, with an increased/enhanced police presence, targeted controls and immediate operational action, with the aim of increasing the sense of security of citizens/protecting citizens and ensuring public order.
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The Police are investigating a case of robbery, kidnapping, theft, assault and causing actual bodily harm as well as other serious offenses, with a 65-year-old victim, in the province of Larnaca.
The case was reported to the Police, by the 65-year-old himself. According to what he complained, last Monday, he met in the province of Larnaca, with three people, two of whom he knows, aged 32 and 42.
During their meeting, the 42-year-old attacked and beat the complainant and then took away the sum of €300, his mobile phone and the keys to his vehicle.
The three men then allegedly forcibly put him in a car driven by the third unknown person and led him to a property maintained by the complainant, in a village in the province of Larnaca. There, according to the 65-year-old, the alleged perpetrators snatched the keys to his vehicle and after placing various objects that were in the premises in it, they left the scene, in an unknown direction.
As part of the investigation of the case, arrest warrants were obtained against the 32-year-old and 42-year-old. After a coordinated operation by members of the Nicosia TAE, they were located in the province of Nicosia and arrested, while a third person aged 44 was found with them, who, as it was later established, is the third person to whom the complainant referred in his complaint.
The arrested are expected to appear today before the Larnaca District Court, for the purpose of issuing a detention order.
The Kofinos Police Station is investigating the case.
Update - Two Greek Cypriots, 32 and 42 years old, as well as a 44-year-old man from Greece, who are suspected of robbery, kidnapping, theft, assault and causing actual bodily harm as well as other serious offenses, with a 65-year-old victim from Kofinou were placed in six-day detention by the Larnaca District Court.
During their meeting, according to the complaint, the 42-year-old attacked and beat the complainant and then took away the sum of €300, his mobile phone and the keys to his vehicle.
The two men then allegedly forcibly put him in a car, which was driven by a third unknown person and led him to a premises maintained by the complainant in Kofinou, where he mainly stores metal objects that he buys from third parties. There, according to the 65-year-old, the alleged perpetrators snatched the keys to his vehicle and after placing a quantity of copper in it that was in the premises, they left the scene, in an unknown direction.
As part of the investigation of the case, arrest warrants were obtained against the 32-year-old and 42-year-old. After a coordinated operation by members of the TAE Nicosia, they were located in the province of Nicosia, while the 44-year-old Greek was also located with them, who, as it was later established, is the third person to whom the complainant referred in his complaint.
According to information from Filenews, the two Greek Cypriots some time ago had sold the 65-year-old various items, which were found to be stolen along the way. Members of the Police had located the stolen goods at the 65-year-old's premises, with him stating that he bought them from the two Greek Cypriots. In fact, a case of theft was registered against all of them before the Larnaca District Court. It is noted that the 32-year-old and the 42-year-old have again engaged the Police for cases of burglary and theft.
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The Police made two arrests, to facilitate the investigations regarding an investigated case of theft of a bronze sculpture, which was reported on 24/06/2026 in Limassol. This sculpture was stolen from the sculpture park in Fasoula, Limassol on Saturday (20/6/26).
They are a 37-year-old and a 25-year-old woman, who were wanted by the Police after testimony emerged against them during the investigation of the case, on the basis of which arrest warrants were issued.
Specifically, on 06/07/2026 the two persons were located by a member of the Police who was on patrol in the area of a village in the province of Limassol, while a subsequent check found that the vehicle had been declared stolen on 22/06/2026 in the province of Paphos.
The 37-year-old and the 25-year-old were arrested and presented yesterday before the Limassol District Court, which issued a seven-day detention order.
The TAE Limassol continues the examinations.
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The Police are investigating a case of robbery with the victim of a 21-year-old food distributor, which was committed this morning, in Limassol.
According to the data under examination, around 1 a.m., while the 21-year-old was driving a car in Limassol, he was approached by three unknown persons who were riding scooter-type mopeds. The three perpetrators then stopped the 21-year-old's course and after opening the driver's door, they took him out of the car and beat him. The perpetrators then stole the sum of €1,800 from the car and fled in an unknown direction.
The 21-year-old was taken by ambulance to Limassol General Hospital, where he was found to have facial injuries, and after being given first aid, he was then discharged.
The TAE Limassol continues the examinations.
Update - A gang of young people seems to be behind the last five robberies against food distributors committed in Limassol. In fact, the action of the young people seems to have been recorded by closed surveillance circuits, which have been received by the Police and are being evaluated.
Information from philenews states that the perpetrators are striking in specific areas, with the authorities carrying out examinations and other actions to locate and arrest them.
The 21-year-old, a citizen of India, went to the scene of the robbery, where he pointed out to the investigators the places where the events unfolded, while giving useful information about the movements of the perpetrators. At the same time, members of the Limassol Police Department proceeded to receive material from closed surveillance circuits installed in the wider area, with the aim of mapping the escape route of the perpetrators, identifying their movements before and after the robbery and verifying whether they had previously followed the victim.
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The appeal of an employer company was rejected and the decision of the Labor Disputes Court was upheld, which ruled that the termination of an employee's employment was illegal. It awarded damages of €5,607.54 for 18 weeks, €2,492.24 as payment in lieu of notice for eight weeks, with statutory interest, and €1,700 in legal fees.
According to what is recorded in the decision, the case concerned the dismissal of an employee in 2016. The company argued that the employee had committed repeated misconduct during his employment, culminating in an incident in which, according to its claims, he was spotted sleeping during his work.
According to the testimony of the employer's side, the company's operations manager claimed to have found the employee sleeping deeply in a chair in the laboratory, remained for about ten minutes without being noticed, and then informed the company's management. Subsequently, it was decided to initiate the procedure for termination of employment due to serious misconduct.
The employee claimed that he was working on the computer
The employee denied that he was sleeping. He claimed that at the time of the incident he was working on the computer looking for a technical blueprint for repairing a coffee machine and that he noticed the presence of the manager behind him for a few minutes, without any observation at that time. When he was later informed that he was accused of sleeping, he denied the allegation.
The first-instance proceedings were conducted with written statements of the witnesses, without cross-examination. The Court ruled that the two versions were contradictory, but the employee's testimony remained indisputable, since it was not cross-examined, while it found that the employer company did not provide evidence to confirm its claims.
The Court also held that even if it were accepted that the employee was asleep, the circumstances of the incident were not examined, nor whether it was a deliberate act or an unintentional event, nor was there any evidence of the consequences that this behaviour had or could have on the company.
At the same time, it took into account that a previous termination of the employment of the same employee had been revoked following a declaration by the employer company before the Court, with the result that it was considered that there had been no termination of the employment relationship.
The employer argued, inter alia, that the Court of First Instance wrongly held that the employee's version remained undisputed, that it wrongly took into account elements of previous court proceedings and that there was no basis for considering the termination of employment unjustified.
The Court of Appeal rejected all the grounds of appeal. It held that the Court of First Instance correctly applied the rules of evidence, since the employer company, which bore the burden of proof, did not prove its claims. At the same time, it considered that the company's previous statement was correctly taken into account, according to which the earlier termination of employment was considered as non-existent, which affected the calculation of the employee's total service.
In conclusion, the Court of Appeal fully upheld the first instance decision and awarded the employee the costs of the appeal amounting to €1,900 plus VAT, where it is due.
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The mistakes made in issuing an out-of-court notice from the cameras led to the acquittal of a driver accused of running at 119km instead of 50km. The mobile camera was set up in Latsia, while the indictment read Dali. At the same time, it was not proven what the speed limit was and most importantly, the driver proved that on that day and time he was in Paphos.
The accused was a Romanian, who was facing the charge of violating the speed limit before the District Court of Nicosia.
Specifically, he was accused that on 30/8/2024 in Dali it was recorded by a photo-marking device driving the motor vehicle with registration numbers [ ], at a speed higher than the maximum speed limit, i.e. at a speed of 119KPH instead of 50KPH.
After receiving the fine, the accused informed the contractor company that he was not the owner of the vehicle at the time and that it was transferred to his name on 27.11.24. On behalf of the Police and especially the Traffic Department, a new check was carried out on the system and it appeared that at the time in question, he was the owner of the vehicle, specifically from 27.05.2024 – 21.11.2024, when the vehicle was transferred to a company and then appears to be the owner again from 27.11.2024 onwards.
According to the Court, the fact that the accused was the owner of the vehicle at the time in question cannot easily lead to the conclusion that he was also the driver on that day and time.
The accused had put forward the position that on that particular day and time he was in Kato Paphos, where he went to deliver wedding photos he had taken. He cited photos of his vehicle's registration plates, which differed from those shown on the photo-marking system.
Doubts that arose in the Court also concerned the place where the offense was committed. While Dali is mentioned in the indictment, the camera operator recorded Nicosia Avenue in Latsia. As for the speed limit on the specific road, the decision states, there is no reference to the evidence submitted, while the operator wrote "at 50 – 65" in the forms he filled out.
The Court pointed out that it was not clarified by the prosecuting authority whether the speed limit on the road on which the vehicle in question was photo-marked was 50kph or 65kph.
Although the Court questioned the accused's positions that the vehicle complained of had the same license plates and type as his own, but did not denounce possible copying, "a fact, really strange and troubling''.
Also and in continuation of the above, the fact that not even in the letter he sent to the photolabeling company, did he mention anything in relation to the above, is also an element of concern, especially taking into account the fact that by his own admission, in his answer he lied.
However, the judge notes that there is no testimony to show that the vehicle in question was driven by the accused. The fact that the registration numbers of the vehicle are the registration numbers of the vehicle he owned at the material time cannot automatically lead to the conclusion beyond all reasonable doubt that he was also his driver.
The Court pointed out that the accused could not be in Latsia and at the same time and day be in Kato Paphos and meet with two persons. In view of the findings, the Court acquitted the accused.
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Cyprus Mail
The trial of former transport minister Marios Demetriades in relation to “suspicious” naturalisations under Cyprus’ citizenship through investment scheme, commonly known as the ‘golden passport’ scheme, was on Wednesday adjourned until September.
Demetriades and nine other defendants, seven natural persons and two legal entities, will now appear in court on September 14, facing charges of influence peddling, bribery, extortion, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and violations of the Council of Europe’s convention on the criminalisation of corruption.
In the meantime, the Nicosia criminal court will examine pre-trial “issues” raised by the defence on July 24, with a letter having been sent to attorney-general George Savvides requesting information on whether an agreement has been reached with a “key witness” for immunity or favourable treatment in potential criminal proceedings against them.
Demetriades served under former President Nicos Anastasiades between 2014 and 2018, with the interim findings of an investigation into the ‘golden passport’ scheme in 2021 finding that a total of 137 naturalisations which had been promoted by a law firm linked to Demetriades had been given the nod at cabinet meetings he had attended.
He has maintained his innocence, arguing that he is a scapegoat and that he was being targeted in the case.
“For three full years my personal, family and professional life has been thoroughly checked, as have all my political decisions [and] no fault was found,” he said in 2024.
He added that maintains “absolute trust in justice, knowing that in the end truth and justice always prevail”.
Thirty-nine undeclared salaried employees were identified by the labour inspection department in April following checks at 156 locations, the department said on Tuesday.
Sixteen fines, totalling to €88,200, were given.
The department said that the purpose of the inspections was to raise awareness of the consequences of undeclared work.
Of the 156 premises, 147 were employers and nine were self-employed individuals, with 434 workers checked altogether.
Under Cyprus law, if an undeclared worker is identified by the Social Insurance department, a €1,000 fine is imposed on each employee for every month of the violation, with a €500 increase every six months.
If repeat violations are found within two years, the fine increases to €2,000 for the second infraction within the time frame and €3,000 for the third and further infractions.
According to the department, of the 434 workers inspected, 142 were Greek Cypriots, four were Turkish Cypriots, 110 were European Union citizens and a 178 were third country nationals.
