‘Golden passports’ trial expected to proceed on October 19 after charges clarified
The trial of ten defendants in the ‘golden passports’ case is expected to proceed on October 19 after defence lawyers accepted prosecutors’ clarifications of new indictments.
Nicosia, Cyprus. The trial proper in the ‘golden passports’ case is expected to proceed at the next hearing on October 19, after the defence said on Friday that prosecutors had adequately clarified disputed new indictments.
Defence accepts clarifications
The case was filed in 2024, but procedural issues have delayed the start of the trial proper. The latest delay followed the prosecution’s amendment of the charge sheet to add 24 new indictments.
Lawyers for the defendants had argued that three of the new indictments did not make clear precisely what their clients were accused of.
At Friday’s hearing, defence lawyer Elias Stefanou told the court that the defence was now satisfied after receiving clarifications from the prosecution. However, he warned that he would raise the issue of a fair trial if prosecutors subsequently attempted to broaden the scope of the charges.
With both sides having agreed on the charge sheet, the trial proper is expected to proceed later this month.
Ten defendants face charges
The ten defendants before Nicosia criminal court are former transport minister Marios Demetriades, Andreas Demetriades, Demetris Demetriades, Giorgos Demetriades, Eleni Simillidi, Jing Wang, Josef Friedrich Santin, Vasiliki Georgiou-Santin, Andreas Demetriades & Co LLC and Delsk Business Services Ltd.
The charges involve corruption, bribery, conspiracy to defraud and money laundering linked to the naturalisation of 19 Asian investors under the now-defunct citizenship-by-investment scheme.
Allegations concerning payments and citizenship applications
Following their investigations, police said the scheme involved a man married to an embassy employee who had contact with Chinese investors. People seeking Cypriot passports allegedly paid money, with portions of investment funds channelled to third parties through various companies.
Former minister Marios Demetriades is specifically charged with intervening in citizenship applications handled by his father’s and brothers’ law firm.
A second charge concerns “accepting gifts as a public official” in connection with a Chinese investor’s naturalisation. A third alleges bribery of a public official, citing Demetriades’ active participation in cabinet decisions.
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