Nicosia, Cyprus. Police said on Friday that their investigation into allegations of fraud, forgery, conspiracy to commit fraud, and the circulation of forged comments against former Edek leader Marinos Sizopoulos has been completed and will be sent to the legal service in the coming days.
Investigation file to be reviewed
Police spokesman Vyron Vyronos told the Cyprus News Agency that the investigative work had been completed and that the police legal department would now study the file before forwarding it to the legal service for review and instructions.
Asked whether police had found that Sizopoulos may have committed criminal offences, Vyronos said only that the file would be studied by the legal service.
Origin of the investigation
The police investigation began after the release of a report by the anti-corruption authority which found that Sizopoulos may be criminally liable.
The report was prepared after former Edek MP George Varnava, who left the party in 2024, filed a complaint regarding Sizopoulos’ conduct.
Findings cited in the report
The report said it rejected several of Varnava’s allegations but found that Sizopoulos owned Ktimatiki Ltd, one of four joint owners of Taxan Properties Developers Ltd.
It said Sizopoulos had acted as guarantor for a loan taken out by Taxan with a Cypriot bank and that repayments had been missed, leading the bank to file a lawsuit seeking repayment of the amount due.
According to the report, Sizopoulos then held consultations with the bank, which agreed that if €1.625 million was paid, it would write off the remaining €956,900 of the loan.
Company sale and citizenship scheme link
The report said a foreign investor later bought the entirety of Taxan for €2.025 million.
It added that although Sizopoulos did not know the investor at the time of the transaction, the investigation found that the investor had purchased Taxan with the intention of being naturalised as a Cypriot citizen through the Republic of Cyprus’ citizenship-through-investment scheme, commonly known as the golden passport scheme.
The report also stated that two purchase and sale documents related to the Taxan sale had been prepared, one declaring that the company was sold for €2.025 million and the other declaring that it was sold for €1.6 million.