On Monday 16 December, the Nicosia Criminal Court announced a new date for the hearing of the case concerning the illegal issuance of passports under the Citizenship by Investment programme.
It was announced that the criminal proceedings will resume on 13 January.
It should be noted that the main defendants are the former President of the House of Representatives Demetris Syllouris, the former MP Christakis Giovanis and the manager of his real estate company Antonis Antoniou.
The defendants are facing five charges. The main charges relate to criminal conspiracy to undermine the authority of the Republic of Cyprus and to influence public officials in violation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Criminalisation of Corruption. The defendants, for their part, deny all the charges against them. It should be clarified that the trial is based on the findings of Myron Nicolatos, who investigated the cases of illegal issuance of 'golden' passports.
Interestingly, at an earlier court hearing, prosecutor Haris Karaolidou said that a key witness living abroad had given important testimony in the case, which could help to clear two charges against the suspects. A woman living outside Cyprus has agreed to testify via videoconference. Both sides are still finalising details and preparing the witness list for the start of the hearing on 13 January 2025.
Recall that the huge scandal erupted on 12 October 2020 after a report by the Qatari television channel Al Jazeera.
The video showed senior officials agreeing to grant Cypriot citizenship to a Chinese investor who had been sentenced in absentia by the PRC authorities to seven years in prison for corruption, money laundering and bribery.
Cyprus has set up a special committee to investigate the high-profile scandal. In parallel, the country's Auditor General has been conducting an independent investigation, which, for reasons unknown, has been repeatedly blocked. A series of public hearings were held on the island.
Finally, on 22 June 2021, the final report of the committee of inquiry headed by Myron Nicolatos into the illegal issuance of golden passports was published. The 780-page dossier was heavily redacted. The names and some personal details of investors were removed for security reasons.
A lengthy investigation revealed a number of irregularities. Syllouris and Giovannis resigned. Under pressure from the international community, the Cypriot authorities were forced to close the scheme on 1 November 2020.