Nicosia, Cyprus. Archbishop Georgios said on Monday that the church had no involvement in the state land exchanges examined by the anti-corruption authority and said it was prepared to return a donation received from Malaysian fugitive Jho Low if required by a court order.
Authority findings
Speaking on Alpha, the archbishop addressed allegations concerning the transfer of state land to the archbishopric and the wider findings published by the authority following the book Mafia State.
The authority recommended a criminal investigation into former agriculture minister Nicos Kouyialis over a land compensation arrangement involving church property in Engomi.
According to the findings, the state expropriated church land in Engomi and later approved the transfer of state-owned plots in Ayia Napa to the archbishopric as compensation.
The land was presented to competent authorities as having a value of €5.7 million, but later cadastral records showed the plots ultimately transferred had an estimated value of more than €10.6 million.
The authority concluded that the state may have suffered a significant loss of state property and recommended that Kouyialis be investigated for possible abuse of power.
The findings said no evidence had emerged indicating that the former minister received any personal benefit.
Church response
Archbishop Georgios rejected suggestions that the church played a role in selecting the land or determining its value.
“From the information we have received, it appears the Church had no involvement,” he said.
He said the state had requested the expropriation of church land for the construction of a school in Engomi and had then taken responsibility for identifying replacement properties.
“We were not asked to provide explanations. The government undertook to find properties of equal value for exchange,” he said.