The mandate received from the Corruption Authority by Inspection Officials, former judge Sotiris Liasides and attorney Nicholas.P.Constantinou, who investigated charges against Marinos Sizopoulos, included claims voiced by Socialist EDEK former MP Yiorgos Varvava against Attorney General Yiorgos Savvides that he attempted to cover up the case in question. Following an investigation, the allegations were rejected as unfounded.
The Charge Against Yiorgos Savvides
In his formal written charge to the Corruption Authority, dated November 6th, 2023, Yiorgos Varnava claimed that Savvides terminated an on-going criminal investigation on Sizopoulos.
As Varvava alleged, on 9th July 2019, one of the partners in Sizopoulos’ firm Taxan Properties Developers, was arrested and admitted involvement in a fraud, submitting documents, that according to the EDEK former MP also implicated Sizopoulos in possible criminal offences which appear to have been committed following the sale of Taxan to an Iraqi investor who was seeking to secure a ‘golden’ passport.
In the same letter, Varnava further claimed that despite the fact that Sizopoulos himself and one of his partners were the ones that made the complaint against the arrested partner, following, as alleged, legal advice, in order to get ahead of events, the evidence in the case, as collected by investigators, were such to also possibly implicate Sizopoulos.
So, as Varnava alleges, on October 7th 2019, a senior Legal Service official asked for a lifting of his parliamentary authority in order to undergo questioning.
Varnava further adds that on July 27th 2020, just 27 days after Yiorgos Savvides took over as Attorney General and without any just cause, even though the case involved a political leader, a public figure, Savvides gave instructions to terminate the process of lifting the Sizopoulos immunity. On the rest of those allegedly involved, instructions were given to file the case.
Charges not proven
In a statement yesterday (Friday), the Corruption Authority noted that part of the aforementioned allegations were rejected at the preliminary stage of investigating the Varnavas claims, as there were not supported by evidence. During the ensuing main part of the investigation, it is added, the Inspection Officials came to the conclusion that the rest of the allegations were also unfounded, and as such, they were subsequently rejected.
The ‘Golden’ Passport
The investigation further showed that following the purchase of Taxan, the ‘golden’ passport issued to the Iraqi investor was wholly legal.
The Corruption Authority ruled as unfounded, an allegation by Varnava that during the application process, the third country investor did not satisfy the conditions set by the investment programme in securing the ‘golden’ passport.
On the contrary, it was shown through testimony that the investor fulfilled all the criteria.
A Varnava claim that Sizopoulos and his three Taxan partners promised the investor a ‘golden’ passport was also thrown out by the Corruption Authority as unfounded.
The Authority states that the evidence clearly does not indicate that Sizopoulos knew the foreign investor and promised a passport, nor did the competent authorities were in any way subject to intervention in order to issue citizenship to the Iraqi national.