Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus’ legal service concluded on Wednesday that a criminal investigation is warranted into possible corruption offences involving former Edek leader and sitting MP Marinos Sizopoulos and began procedures to lift his parliamentary immunity. A request will be filed to the supreme court to remove Sizopoulos’ immunity, which is required for him to give a statement to police.
Legal steps to lift immunity
Five months after the anti-corruption authority submitted its findings, prosecutors are moving to initiate the process to lift Sizopoulos’ immunity. The move follows a similar process recently against Disy MP Nikos Sykas.
Allegations and recommended offences
The anti-corruption authority report was passed to attorney-general Georgios Savvides on September 11 last year and recommended that Sizopoulos be investigated for offences relating to possible acts of corruption, including fraud, forgery, circulation of a false document and conspiracy to defraud.
Complaint linked to ‘golden passport’ naturalisation
The authority’s conclusions were based on complaints submitted by former Edek MP Georgios Varnavas, who alleged misconduct linked to a ‘golden passport’ naturalisation. According to the authority’s findings, Sizopoulos was connected to a property development company involved in the sale of shares to a foreign investor who later acquired Cypriot citizenship under the now-defunct citizenship-by-investment scheme.
Contracts, sale price and bank write-off
Investigators examined whether two separate sales contracts were drawn up for the same transaction, one declaring a higher price for submission to the state and another declaring a lower price for use with a bank that had agreed to write off part of a non-performing loan. The authority said there is sufficient evidence to suggest Sizopoulos was aware of both the actual sale price and the existence of the higher-value contract.
Signature concerns and investigation team
The authority also found indications that a signature on the lower-value document may have been forged and that the bank would not have written off close to €1m of debt had it known the true sale price. Two inspectors were appointed to carry out the probe, former judge Sotiris Liasidis and lawyer Nikolas Konstantinou.
What do you think the lifting of parliamentary immunity means for public accountability in this case?