Prime state‑owned coastal land in Protaras, worth millions of euros and located within the beach protection zone, has been illegally exploited by a businessman for three years. The specific state‑owned parcel, although leased by the state to the Municipality of Paralimni for use as a parking area, is being unlawfully exploited by a businessman who operates a massage business, generating annual profits of thousands of euros at the expense of the state. Notably, the business advertises its services on social media as well, without any intervention appearing to have been made by the competent authorities.
The scandalous tolerance of illegality shown in recent years in this case prompted the intervention of the Law Office of the Republic following formal complaints submitted through a law firm, which had previously approached the competent authorities, who displayed complete indifference towards the complaints.
Possible corruption
According to information secured by Politis, acting on the instructions of Attorney General Giorgos Savvides, a letter was sent on 14 January 2026 to the Chief of Police with instructions to investigate, in addition to the illegal acts, offences of neglect of duty, abuse of power and possible corruption. Officials and public servants involved in the case, through their tolerance or inaction, have allowed the continued encroachment of state land since 2022 without having taken any steps to date to restore legality.
Everyone waiting for someone else…
As Politis is in a position to know, the criminal investigation was extended to the Municipality of Paralimni, the Famagusta District Development Organisation (EOA), the relevant District Administration, as well as the Ministry of the Interior, which on 9 February 2026 sent a letter to the Mayor of Paralimni‑Deryneia, Giorgos Nikoletto, calling on him to take all appropriate measures to remove the identified interventions.
On the other hand, the municipality considers that the competent body for restoring legality is the Famagusta EOA, which issued a permit to the municipality for the conversion of the state parcel into a parking area on the condition that the municipality would remove the illegalities identified on the coastal state plot. The said state plot is leased in the name of the municipality, within which the specific businessman has installed a temporary structure in which a massage business operates. A generator is used to supply electricity to the premises.
The Famagusta EOA, in turn, indicates that under the legislation on Beach Protection, the Famagusta District Administration may remove and demolish illegal constructions falling within the beach protection zone, even through summary procedures and without the need to obtain a court order. The reason the District Administration has not acted to date is one of the questions the ongoing criminal investigation is called upon to answer.
Through the criminal investigation of the case, it will also become clear whether the businessman acted on his own initiative, meaning whether one day he simply decided to occupy the state plot and operate his business because he wanted to, or whether he acted with the approval of competent officials or public servants.
What the on‑site inspection revealed
As stated in a letter from the Director‑General of the Ministry of the Interior, Dr Elikkos Elia, to the Mayor of Paralimni‑Deryneia, Giorgos Nikoletto, dated 9 February 2026, which Politis obtained and publishes, following a complaint that an unlicensed wellness and massage services company had been installed and was operating on parcel 626, section 15, of the Municipal District of Paralimni in Protaras, an on‑site spatial inspection was carried out on 29 August 2024 by the Office of the Famagusta District Land Registry Officer. The inspection established that the installation is located on state land and within the Beach Protection Zone.
According to Article 5A(2) of the Beach Protection Law (Cap. 59), the erection of any building within the Beach Protection Zone requires prior authorisation by the Council of Ministers to the competent building authority in order for the relevant permit to be issued, which did not occur in this case.
Specifically, the spatial inspection identified the following interventions on the site:
• Installation of a wooden pergola used as a massage area
• Installation of a wooden gazebo
• Installation of an enclosed wooden structure used as storage
Lease to the municipality
It should be noted that for the coastal state plot in question, with a total area of 3,715 square metres, a licence of use was granted to the Municipality of Paralimni under reference number 51/14, dated 26 August 2014. The licence was initially valid for a period of one year and is subsequently automatically renewed on an annual basis, upon payment of a nominal annual fee of €5,000. It is emphasised that the agreement does not grant any right of subleasing.
According to Clause 3 of the agreement, the state land is to be used exclusively as a parking area and for public utility services, without the existence of permanent structures.
Furthermore, under Clause 5 of the agreement, the licensees shall not use nor permit the use of the property for any purpose other than that specified in Clause 3 of the licence, without prior consent from the owner, which in this case is the Ministry of the Interior. “Consequently, appropriate handling by your municipal services is expected with regard to the complained intervention, for the removal or abandonment of the identified interventions. You are requested to inform the Ministry of the Interior of the actions you have taken and their outcomes,” states the Director‑General of the Ministry of the Interior, Dr Elikkos Elia, in his letter.
It is noted that today the site is being utilised, and indeed illegally, solely by the businessman.
• We will return in tomorrow’s edition with further documents which demonstrate, at the very least, criminal tolerance, if not corruption.