Larnaca District Court has remanded prominent Cypriot businessman Savvas Kakos, 62, in custody for four days as police investigate allegations of large-scale fraud and fraudulent financial transactions linked to property investment schemes.
Presenting the case before the court, the police investigator said there was evidence giving rise to reasonable suspicion that Kakos had committed offences including conspiracy to commit a felony, obtaining money by false pretences, preparing documents without authority, forgery, uttering forged documents, money laundering and other related offences.
Mulltiple complaints
The alleged offences are said to have been committed between 2022 and 2024 in Larnaca and the surrounding district. The complaints under investigation relate to a total of approximately €12 million.
According to police, Kakos is active in the development, construction and sale of property in Cyprus, primarily in the Larnaca district. He is the founder and head of a group of companies, some of which are connected to the transactions under investigation.
The investigating officer outlined 11 separate cases involving various property investment schemes in which the businessman is alleged to have been involved.
Israeli's mostly affected
Evidence presented to the court indicated that several complaints relate to agreements with overseas investors to finance residential, commercial and hotel developments. The complainants are mainly Israeli nationals, while other complaints have been lodged by businesspeople from Lebanon, the United Kingdom, France and Russia.
According to investigators from Larnaca CID, substantial sums were allegedly paid either as investment capital or as loans to companies connected with the developments. In return, investors were reportedly promised a share of future profits, equity participation in the companies or security over specific properties.
Police are examining whether some of the agreements presented to foreign investors contained information that did not accurately reflect the ownership or corporate structure of the developments concerned.
Investigators are also looking into whether shares or other rights included in earlier agreements were subsequently transferred to other individuals or companies.
Extensive investigation
Particular attention is being given to documents filed with the Department of Lands and Surveys relating to contracts of sale, property transfers and powers of attorney. Police told the court they had evidence that some individuals denied signing specific authorisations or agreements that appeared to have been executed in their names.
In other cases, investigators are examining whether contracts of sale were filed for properties that had already been the subject of earlier agreements.
Authorities are also investigating complaints that some investors were shown photocopies or other documents as proof that transactions had been properly registered, while subsequent checks allegedly revealed discrepancies.
The investigation also covers corporate records, shareholder agreements, financial transfers and transactions linked to various properties. Police are examining agreements relating to corporate shareholdings and allegations that investors did not receive the shares, properties or returns they claim had been agreed with Kakos.
The court heard that the investigation is extensive and will involve a large number of witness statements, detailed examination of substantial documentary evidence and tracing the movement of funds through company records, banking transactions and land registry data.
During a search of the company's offices, investigators seized documents relevant to the ongoing inquiry.
Defence rejects criminal allegations
Speaking to the newspaper, Kakos' lawyer, Antonis Demetriou, said all of the cases referred to in court were civil disputes and that legal proceedings between the parties had been ongoing for years.
Demetriou argued that his client had himself been the victim of usury by a specific Israeli businessman who is listed as one of the complainants in the police investigation.
According to the defence lawyer, that businessman fraudulently acquired two hotels in Larnaca worth a combined €60 million that had originally belonged to Kakos.
Demetriou further said Kakos had filed a complaint with Cyprus Police's Financial Crime Unit two years ago, accusing the same businessman of fraud and money laundering before the businessman later filed his own complaint with Larnaca CID.
"They are dragging my client through the mud because certain circles have decided to do so," Demetriou said.
Pressure
He claimed the decision to bring Kakos before the court was intended to pressure his client into withdrawing complaints alleging the misappropriation of a substantial sum of money and money laundering by the Israeli businessman.
Demetriou also accused the police of working with the businessman and a specific online media outlet to damage his client's credibility.
"I wonder whether Cypriot citizens have become second-class citizens in their own country, with complaints by foreign interests being given priority by the police, while my client's very serious complaint, which was filed earlier, is still under investigation," he said.
