Court hears dispute over Tamasos bishopric land transfer to Avakoum monastery in monks’ money laundering trial

Nicosia, Cyprus. The Nicosia criminal court on Monday examined financial arrangements between the Tamasos bishopric and the Avakoum monastery, including an asset transfer meant to settle a debt, as the trial of two monks accused of money laundering went on.

Cross-examination of the prosecution witness

The defence carried on questioning prosecution witness Dionysios Koptides. Its position was that the transfer had been made to show appreciation for the monks. Koptides answered that “transfers of plots of land are not made as a gesture of respect”.

Related: Supreme Court quashes order to hold CCTV devices from Avakoum monastery in Fterikoudi

RelatedSupreme Court quashes order to hold CCTV devices from Avakoum monastery in Fterikoudi

Defence lawyer Kostis Efstathiou argued last week that the entire Avakoum monastery affair had been invented to hide a loan from the monastery that Tamasos Bishop Isaias had only partly repaid.

The accused and the charges

The defendants are the monks Nektarios and Porfyrios. They are charged with conspiracy to defraud, forgery, using false documents, theft by proxy, handling stolen goods, money laundering, interfering with judicial proceedings and filing fraudulent tax returns.

Testimony on the agreement

Under questioning from Maria Kestoros, the lawyer for Nektarios, Koptides said Bishop Isaias had instructed him to act as administrator in March 2024.

He said an agreement was reached in February 2024 under which one sum would be paid, while the remainder would be cleared by handing over a building plot. According to the witness, Isaias and Porfyrios both signed the agreement.

Koptides added that the Church follows its own internal procedures. He rejected the defence claim that the whole process amounted to a “parody”.

Questions on church cheques

The witness also said he knew nothing about cheques issued in 2020 by the Saint Nicholaos church in the village of Fterikoudi in return for cash, which was used to pay traders and creditors. He said the church could in any case have paid its suppliers directly.

Focus of Porfyrios’ lawyer

Efstathios Efstathiou, who represents Porfyrios, concentrated on events at the Avakoum monastery in March 2024 and on the circumstances in which decisions about the accused were made.