Nine reports have been filed concerning the embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of euros from the estates of deceased individuals, which are currently being investigated by the Larnaca Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The most recent report was submitted just two weeks ago. All the complaints are directed against a former lawyer, who lost her professional license following a conviction by the Disciplinary Council of the Cyprus Bar Association in October 2022, for similar offenses.
According to information obtained by Politis, the investigation into two of the reports has been completed, and the case files have been sent to the Attorney General’s Office for review. These files were returned to the police with specific instructions, and it is expected that they will be resubmitted to the Criminal Department of the Attorney General’s Office for further assessment in the coming days. Investigations into the remaining complaints are ongoing. Politis has also learned that there was a pending criminal case against the former lawyer, which was withdrawn after she returned the money to the complainants.
As Politis gathered from the available evidence, the former lawyer’s modus operandi was consistent: she acted as the executor of the wills of deceased individuals, gained access to their movable and immovable assets, and subsequently embezzled funds. The rightful heirs often waited months or even years for the process to be completed, only to find that she had not carried out her responsibilities.
Uninterrupted Activities Despite Complaints
As confirmed by Politis yesterday, the first complaint against the former lawyer was filed with the Larnaca CID in 2022, with the most recent complaint being lodged on August 25, 2025. Over the past three and a half years, nine different fraud-related complaints have been made against her, and Politis has learned that more are likely to follow. However, she has never been brought before a court for the issuance of an arrest warrant to facilitate investigations. It remains unclear why she has received such treatment, given that individuals accused of stealing much smaller sums are often detained and, when necessary, their photographs are published to assist in their identification. In this case, the funds allegedly misappropriated by the former lawyer from deceased individuals' accounts amount to hundreds of thousands of euros.
Six Disciplinary Convictions
It is startling that the former lawyer lost her professional license in October 2022, following a total of six disciplinary convictions by the Disciplinary Council of the Cyprus Bar Association. Despite this, she continues to present herself as a lawyer and continues to embezzle the estates of deceased individuals.
As revealed in the unanimous decision by the Disciplinary Council (Xenios L. Xenopoulos, Charalambos Zoppos, and Stavros Stavrou), the former lawyer had previously been convicted five times by the Council and had been fined. The Disciplinary Council’s decision concluded as follows: "The seriousness of the offenses faced by the respondent is indisputable, and the fact that she chose not to appear before the Disciplinary Council demonstrates her disregard for both the institutions and the processes followed.
The eighth charge relates to her failure to provide her arguments following a letter from the Attorney General inviting her to present her defense regarding the complaint against her. This recurring behavior of disregarding the institutions must be taken into account when determining the appropriate penalty. Considering the severity of the offenses and the need for the penalty to have a deterrent effect, we believe that the appropriate penalty is the removal of her name from the Roll of Lawyers, as per Article 17(1)(a) of the Lawyers’ Law. Therefore, the penalty of striking her name from the Roll of Lawyers is imposed."
Suspicion of a Cover-Up
A prominent law firm, representing the complainants, recently sent a letter to the Attorney General’s Office, accusing the authorities of unjustified delays in investigating the criminal cases against the former lawyer, hinting that these delays may be indicative of a cover-up.
According to Politis, the Attorney General’s Office responded promptly to this complaint. Instructions were issued to expedite the investigation, and the cases are expected to be transferred to the Attorney General’s Office for review without further delay.
Both the Attorney General’s Office and the police have assured Politis that all pending cases against the former lawyer will be resolved promptly and that there is no intention to cover up the matter.
The Wills and the Thefts
According to information gathered by Politis, the complaints against the former lawyer include, among others, the following:
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From 2017 until October 21, 2022, she acted as the administrator of a deceased individual’s estate, at which point she was removed due to deliberate omissions and serious misconduct. She failed to carry out her duties as the administrator and executor of the will as required by law. She did not distribute the deceased’s assets from 2017 onwards and failed to inform the heirs about the estate’s assets.
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It was found that the deceased had bank deposits totaling €541,598. Of this amount, the former lawyer is alleged to have fraudulently taken €400,146, which she unjustifiably paid to third parties unknown to the estate’s management and the heirs. In some instances, she falsely claimed that the funds were distributed to the heirs. It is believed that these funds were owed by the former lawyer. Investigations are underway to determine whether she had embezzled funds from another estate and later returned them to the family members who discovered the fraud.
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She is also alleged to have embezzled €141,376 by issuing cheques from the management accounts and withdrawing money, pretending in some cases that it was for legal expenses. The total amount she allegedly embezzled from this estate is €541,522, of which she only paid €205,000 to the heirs. The remaining funds have been frozen through a court order.
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In 2021, she was appointed as the administrator of another deceased individual’s estate. Since then, she failed to fulfill her duties, not distributing the deceased’s assets or updating the heirs on the situation. Although she withdrew €50,000, she continued to inform the heirs that the administration was still ongoing and that the money was deposited in the management account.
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She embezzled €100,000 from a joint account of the deceased, which belonged not to the deceased but to another living co-owner. According to the co-owner’s lawyer, there are suspicions that she may have collaborated with a bank employee to facilitate the withdrawal. After a police complaint, the bank returned the €100,000, as the funds were illegally withdrawn, and it launched an investigation against its employee. The former lawyer never returned these funds.
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Between 2014 and 2019, she collected €20,000 from the accounts of a deceased individual and €125,000 from the sale of two apartments, none of which were paid to the heirs. When the heirs discovered that she had embezzled the money, they filed a complaint with the Cyprus Bar Association, which, after a disciplinary hearing, struck her off the Bar, taking into account five prior disciplinary convictions for similar offenses.
