Prosecution testimony to conclude at next hearing of Al Jazeera case
The prosecution’s testimony will conclude at the next hearing of the trial of the two former MPs facing criminal charges over a report by Al Jazeera into the alleged illegal naturalisations of people as citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, commonly known as the ‘golden passports scandal’, prosecution lawyer Charis Karaolidou said on Thursday.
Former House president Demetris Syllouris and former Akel MP Christakis Giovani are both facing charges including conspiracy to subvert the Republic and influencing a public official, in violation of the laws criminalising corruption.
Addressing the court, Karaolidou said the final prosecution witness will be the case’s investigator, who is set to testify on July 2.
Earlier in the same hearing, prosecution witness Christina Kaoulla, who works at the interior ministry, completed her testimony, and was questioned by Karaolidou.
Syllouris’ lawyer Chris Triantafyllides argued that having studied the investigator’s testimony, “nine tenths of it” concerns charges which have since been withdrawn.
As such, he said he expects there to be “no substantive testimony” from the investigator, and said that as such, he will file an objection.
Karaolidou responded, saying that while the investigator will not offer any new facts, he will “speak from his own side of the investigative work”.
Al Jazeera aired an almost hour-long exposé of the scandal in October 2020, prompting Syllouris and Giovanis to both resign.
In the documentary, undercover reporters played the role of agents acting on behalf of a fictional Chinese businessman with a criminal record, aiming to secure him Cypriot citizenship.
Syllouris, Giovanis and others were shown offering to help the man in his quest for citizenship despite his criminal record.
The government of the day then scrapped Cyprus’ citizenship by investment scheme, with the European Union having launched legal proceedings over claims the scheme had been used to sell passports to dubious individuals.
A subsequent inquiry found that 53 per cent of 6,779 citizenships granted through the scheme were unlawful, with the government since having commenced the process of cancelling the citizenship of some naturalised through the scheme.