Former president of the Cyprus Football Association, George Koumas, is due to appear before a court on 26 February 2026 following the service of an indictment filed against him.
The indictment includes a total of 25 charges relating to alleged incompatibility and money laundering.
Scope of the charges
The alleged offences cover the period 2015 to 2025 and involve collaborations with companies and organisations professionally active in the sports sector, including the Cyprus Football Association, the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority, Cablenet, GO PLC, the Nicosia Race Club and the Cyprus Basketball Federation.
According to the indictment, Koumas, during his tenure as a sports official and president of the Cyprus Football Association, allegedly maintained, through companies and associates, links with specific organisations in breach of the Law on the Prevention and Combating of Manipulation of Sports Events, as well as Article 20 of the Criminal Code.
The contested activities are said to have included, among other things, the production and live broadcasting of sporting events, the management of television rights and the commercial exploitation of internet and mobile rights for football, basketball and horse racing events.
Alleged money laundering
Charges 24 and 25 concern alleged money laundering offences, with the total value of the disputed sums amounting, according to the indictment, to approximately €6.5 million.
The amount is alleged to derive from the activities described in the preceding charges.
Co-defendants
According to the indictment, Defendant 1 is George Koumas, who served as deputy president and subsequently president of the Cyprus Football Association.
Defendants 2 and 3 are not natural persons but companies or legal entities which, according to the case file, were under Koumas’s control.
Specifically, Defendant 2 concerns a company in which Koumas is alleged to have been a shareholder and director and which entered into agreements for the production and live broadcasting of sporting events.
Defendant 3 concerns another company or legal entity, also allegedly under his control, which provided live streaming services, television rights management and sports programme production.
According to information obtained by the Cyprus News Agency, the defence is expected to request an adjournment at the first court appearance in order to study the evidentiary material, and a new date for the hearing will be set.
Source: CNA