The 'golden passport' trial at the Nicosia Criminal Court continued on Wednesday with the cross-examination of witness Elena Giovani, daughter of the defendant Christakis Giovani.
The hearing is part of the ongoing case related to the controversial Al Jazeera investigation and irregularities in the Cyprus Investment Programme, based on findings of the Nicolatos Committee report. Giovani was formerly an Akel MP and has denied any wrongdoing in the case. Also facing charges in the same case are former House President Demetris Syllouris.
During the hearing, state prosecutor Charis Karaolidou presented a supplementary agreement allegedly signed by Christakis Giovani on behalf of a company within his group, involving Russian investor Nikolai Gornovsky. Karaolidou argued that the defendant knowingly signed an agreement stipulating that unless an exemption from biometric data requirements was granted for Gornovsky, the €2 million property payment would not proceed.
The prosecutor noted that the agreement followed a prior 'Reservation Agreement' and included terms such as the suspension of construction works, the postponement of issuing bank guarantees, and a clause stating all provisions were subject to the investor securing the biometric exemption.
“My father did not mislead any authorities”
Testifying in defence of her father, Elena Giovani repeatedly stated she was unaware of the agreement in question, did not know who signed it or when, and was neither present nor involved in the sales.
Karaolidou then cited four payment confirmations allegedly issued by Giovani on 14 January 2019 to support Gornovsky’s citizenship file, claiming that no funds had been received at that time. She accused the defendant of misleading the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus.
Giovani responded: “My father did nothing improper. He did not mislead any authority. He was following the instructions of his lawyer, Andreas Pittadjis, who was also the service provider for Mr Gornovsky and managed the funds.”
Karaolidou argued that Pittadjis, acting as both provider and escrow agent, withheld the funds until the exemption was granted, which, she said, proves the payment was conditional.
The €2 million payment and the alleged motive
The prosecution further claimed that the €2 million payment depended directly on securing the exemption. Karaolidou alleged that the defendant carried out a series of actions to ensure the exemption would be approved — including allegedly enlisting the involvement of then House President Demetris Syllouris (defendant no. 1).
The witness countered: “I don’t know how you reached that conclusion. We had clients whose applications were rejected. We didn’t push those forward. Do you know how many clients we lost?”
Prosecutor challenges witness’s credibility
In a tense exchange, Karaolidou told Giovani that she was not in court to speak the truth, but rather to protect her father — consistently denying any knowledge or involvement.
“I’m sorry if that’s what you understood,” replied Giovani. “I didn’t come here to lie about anything. I wasn’t involved in the company’s property sales. I didn’t even hear Gornovsky’s name mentioned in passing at the office.”
Earlier in the session, the prosecution submitted twelve photocopies of payment documents, four of which were from the Giovani Group to Gornovsky. Karaolidou pointed out that these documents were dated after the naturalisation — specifically, 19 June 2019 onwards — in contrast to the January confirmations submitted to authorities, which she claimed were false.
Giovani said she had no knowledge of the transactions as she was on maternity leave from December 2018 to September 2019. She added that the funds were under the management of lawyer Andreas Pittadjis via a client account.
Karaolidou argued that the payment was conditional on securing Gornovsky’s exemption and that the January confirmations falsely presented the investment as completed to Cypriot authorities.
Document dispute sparks defence objection
Karaolidou also presented a separate agreement allegedly involving Christakis Giovani, which she claimed predated the naturalisation application. The document reportedly included a commitment by Giovani to take all necessary steps to obtain the exemption for Gornovsky.
Giovani denied recognising or knowing of the agreement.
Defence lawyer Giorgos Papaioannou objected to the introduction of this document, stating it had not been disclosed during the pre-trial phase and that its sudden appearance raised procedural concerns.
Demetris Syllouris’s lawyer, Chris Triantafyllides, echoed the objection, calling the use of the document at this stage an abuse of process, particularly as it was unclear when the prosecution obtained it.
The presiding judge clarified that the document’s registration as evidence did not equate to its authentication and that the prosecution reserved the right to submit it either for limited use in cross-examination or as evidence for identification.
Two additional witnesses examined
The defence then called two additional witnesses: Elena Michail, who worked for the Giovanis Group from May 2016 to January 2020, and Pantelis Tsiolakis, the group’s Technical Director since 2005.
The next court session is scheduled for 26 September 2025 at 10:00, when cross-examination of Tsiolakis by the prosecution is expected to continue.
