Nicosia, Cyprus. The trial of eight individuals and two companies, including former transport minister Marios Demetriades, over the issuing of Cypriot passports to foreign nationals was adjourned on Monday until July 8 at 9.30am. The procedure was due to begin at the Nicosia criminal court but was postponed due to the court’s workload.
Charges and defendants
The defendants face charges relating to corruption, bribery, extortion, conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
The defendants are: Marios Demetriades, Andreas Demetriades, Demetris Demetriades, Giorgos Demetriades, Eleni Simillides, Jing Wang, Josef Friedrich Santin, Vasiliki Georgiou-Santin, Andreas Demetriades & Co LLC, and Delsk (Cyprus) Business Services Ltd.
Background to the case
Demetriades served under former president Nicos Anastasiades from 2014 to 2018. Interim findings of a 2021 investigation into the ‘golden passports’ scheme said that 137 naturalisations promoted by a law firm linked to Demetriades had been approved at cabinet meetings he attended.
Demetriades has said he is being scapegoated. He is accused of meddling with the process of approving the granting of Cypriot citizenship to foreign nationals, while the final decision rested with the cabinet. His family’s law firm is central to the case.
Other individuals named in proceedings
Other individuals in the dock include a foreign investor, a former functionary at the Cypriot embassy in China, and the functionary’s husband.
In September 2023, police said they had reason to believe suspicious dealings took place relating to the naturalisation of 19 foreign investors, with a key role played by a man married to an embassy employee.
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