Former House President Demetris Syllouris on Thursday pleaded not guilty in the ongoing citizenship-by-investment case at the Nicosia Criminal Court.
The second defendant, former AKEL MP Christakis Giovani, also made an unsworn statement, claiming he never believed he had committed any wrongdoing in relation to documents he signed concerning the case of Nikolay Gornovski. According to Giovani, the documents in question were either requested or prepared by his personal lawyer and legal adviser to the Giovani Group, Andreas Pittadjis.
Syllouris’ lawyer, Chris Triantafyllides, informed the court that his client would be delivering an unsworn statement.
In his statement, Syllouris said he had followed the court proceedings attentively and stated:
“I neither acted in any way, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that would constitute a violation of the law or meet the elements of the charges I am facing.”
“I categorically declare that I am innocent of all charges brought against me in this case, which has unjustly caused enormous hardship for me and my family,” he added.
In his own unsworn statement, Giovani said that regarding the Gornovski case, he signed documents “requested or prepared” by Andreas Pittadjis, whom he described as his long-standing personal lawyer and legal adviser to the Group.
“I never imagined or believed there was anything improper, nor did I act in any improper way,” he said, emphasising that all procedures relating to the naturalisation were handled by Mr Pittadjis and his law firm, which operated as a provider under the programme.
Former parliamentary director testifies
Socratis Socratous, former Director General of the House of Representatives, was also called by Syllouris’ defence team to testify about the former House Speaker’s international travel.
Socratous, who held the position during Syllouris’ House presidency, responded to questions from the defence regarding a November 2019 official visit to China. He confirmed that Syllouris led the delegation as Speaker of the House and addressed a conference on imports and exports, alongside other foreign dignitaries.
He noted that MPs from all political parties took part in the delegation, and that the selection of MPs for international conferences is made exclusively by the parties themselves. While in China, discussions reportedly included exports and the possibility of establishing direct flights.
When asked whether similar conferences were held in Cyprus, Socratous referred to a session of the Standing Committee on Economic and Sustainable Development of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly held in Pissouri in June 2018. The meeting, attended by representatives from 54 countries, was chaired by Syllouris on behalf of the House. According to Socratous, the two permanent members of Cyprus’ delegation to the Assembly were Christakis Giovani and Nikos Tornaritis, appointed by their respective parties.
Socratous also confirmed that prior to the China trip and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, he had not observed any other official foreign missions involving both Syllouris and Giovani.
He testified that Syllouris had led parliamentary delegations abroad on official visits, typically in response to invitations from foreign parliaments. Such trips, he noted, fall under the remit of parliamentary diplomacy and do not require special authorisation.
“The House operates autonomously within the framework of parliamentary diplomacy when it deems it can advance the interests of the Republic of Cyprus,” he said.
He further explained that parliamentary diplomacy can be used to promote economic, cultural, and political relations with other countries. Asked about the economic aspect, Socratous said the goal is to strengthen the Republic’s economic ties with both EU and non-EU states, including the attraction of foreign investment to Cyprus. He added that parliamentary delegations were often accompanied by representatives of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA), with the aim of promoting investment, including the citizenship-by-investment programme.
Document submitted regarding investment programme
During his testimony, Socratous was presented with an article and a letter, which he confirmed had been sent by the then House Speaker to the President of the Republic in August 2020. In the letter, Syllouris proposed convening a meeting of party leaders to discuss the future of the citizenship programme, suggesting its improvement or even abolition.
He was subsequently cross-examined by the representative of the prosecution, Harris Karaolidou.
The defence had also planned to present testimony from the former secretary of the then President of the Republic to identify a document — a 2015 letter from the President granting Syllouris authority to promote investment in Cyprus. However, her appearance was deemed unnecessary after the prosecution agreed to admit the letter as evidence.
The next hearing is scheduled for 15 September at 10:00am, during which the court is expected to hear witnesses called by Giovani’s defence team.