By midday today, the Anti-Corruption Authority will forward to the Legal Service the 3,000-page report on Mafia State, along with the evidential material on a digital disc. The evaluation will be carried out by the Prosecution Council. At the same time, part of the report pointing to possible tax offences involving seven former officials will be sent to the Tax Commissioner for further action.
The 3,000-page report of the high-profile Mafia State case will be delivered today, no later than midday, to the Legal Service, together with witness material and evidence, which will be contained on a digital disc (DVD). It was deemed necessary for all evidence to remain at the premises of the Anti-Corruption Authority, where it is currently stored.
As already announced, the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General will not be involved in the case, as they served as ministers in the Nicos Anastasiades government and were subsequently appointed to their current positions by Nicos Anastasiades. The head of the Criminal Law Sector of the Legal Service, prosecutor Elena Kleopa, has also been excluded, as she is a witness in the case.
The Prosecution Council
The report will be studied and assessed by the Prosecution Council, that is, by eight prosecutors of the Republic, all of them women. According to the Legal Service website, they are:
- Rena Papaeti Hadjikosta, head of the Fiscal Law Sector
- Mary Ann Stavrinidou, head of the International Law Sector
- Marina Spiliotopoulou, head of the Extradition and European Arrest Warrants Sector
- Theano Mavromoustaki, head of the Civil Law Sector
- Polina Efthivoulou Efthymiou, head of the Public Prosecutors Sector
- Elena Papageorgiou, head of the Administrative Court Appeals Subsector
- Gianna Hatzichanna, head of the Administrative Court of International Protection Appeals Subsector
- Despina Kyprianou, head of the Constitutional Affairs and Legislative Scrutiny Sector
Search for criminal investigators
According to information available to Politis, the Presidential Palace is seeking reputable legal figures of recognised standing to be appointed by the Council of Ministers to undertake the criminal investigation of the Mafia State case. These criminal investigators may even be former judges.
If agreement is reached on the appointments, it is not ruled out that their names could be announced at the next Cabinet meeting, scheduled for the day after tomorrow, Wednesday.
As noted by competent sources, those selected will be individuals of unquestionable standing, in order to ensure the impartiality and objectivity of the criminal investigations.
The suspects and Costas Clerides
Legal circles speaking to Politis indicated yesterday that there is a strong possibility that the number of individuals to be examined for corruption offences may be significantly higher than the 13 natural persons and two legal entities (law firms) to whom prima facie responsibility is attributed in the Authority’s report, as new evidence may emerge during the course of the criminal investigations.
As a noteworthy example, reference was made to the potential involvement of former Attorney General Costas Clerides. Although he endorsed the findings of the investigation carried out by then prosecutor and head of the Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS), Eva Rossidou-Papakyriacou, which cleared Nicos Anastasiades and the law firm bearing his name of allegations of money laundering, Mr Clerides is not included among those to whom responsibility is attributed.
By contrast, the Authority’s report attributes possible responsibility exclusively to Eva Rossidou-Papakyriacou and calls for her to be examined for offences of abuse of power and neglect of duty. However, the report notes that Ms Papakyriacou had presented her findings to the then Attorney General, Costas Clerides, who adopted the MOKAS exonerating report in its entirety.
“The Attorney General, who had the decisive authority, agreed with it,” the Anti-Corruption Authority’s report states.
Legal experts estimate that if the offences attributed to Ms Papakyriacou are substantiated, the role of the then Attorney General Costas Clerides may also come under scrutiny.
The thousands of illegal SMS
Thousands of SMS messages will also be available to the criminal investigators. These were submitted by Makarios Drousiotis as evidence but were ultimately not used by the investigators of the Anti-Corruption Authority, as their acquisition from the authorities of Monaco was deemed illegal by the European Court of Human Rights.
There was disagreement among the Authority’s investigators on this issue. The head of the team, Gabrielle McIntyre, argued that the SMS messages could have evidential value despite the ruling of the European Court. The opposite view was expressed by the three Cypriot criminal-law investigators, Charalambos Chrysanthou, Orestis Nikitas and Andreas Efthymiou, who considered that they could not be used without additional supporting evidence.
Ultimately, the Anti-Corruption Authority adopted the majority view.
All SMS messages will be available to the criminal investigators to be used as they deem appropriate.
Evidence sent to the Tax Commissioner
The Anti-Corruption Authority will today send specific findings to the Tax Department, requesting tax audits of seven former officials named in the report, with former President Nicos Anastasiades first on the relevant list.
According to Politis information, law firms are not included in the list to be forwarded to Tax Commissioner Sotiris Markides.
Nearly €1.5 million cost
The Anti-Corruption Authority has not yet finalised the cost of the Mafia State investigation, as invoices from the investigators are still pending, two of whom will remain available to assist the criminal investigators.
According to the Authority’s estimates, the total cost of the investigation is not expected to exceed €1.5 million.
Demonstration outside the Legal Service
The parties AKEL and Volt will hold a demonstration today at 18:30 outside the Legal Service, calling for accountability, transparency and the assignment of responsibility to those involved in Mafia State.
