Police assign seven officers to support Mafia State criminal investigation

Nicosia, Cyprus. Police confirmed on Tuesday that they had formed an investigative team of seven officers to work alongside five independent criminal investigators in the Mafia State case. The investigators are examining potential criminal offences identified by the anti-corruption authority.

Independent investigation panel

The independent criminal investigators were appointed after the anti-corruption authority completed a more than two-year investigation into allegations first raised in the book Mafia State.

The authority’s findings pointed to possible criminal liability for 15 people, including former president Nicos Anastasiades.

The panel is led by Vasileios Skouris, a professor of public law and former president of the EU Court of Justice. Its members also include Ilias Anagnostopoulos, professor emeritus of criminal law at the University of Athens, and three Cypriot lawyers.

Recusal of legal officials

The investigators were appointed following the recusal of Attorney-General George Savvides and Deputy Attorney-General Savvas Angelides from the case.

Both were appointed to their positions by Anastasiades during his presidency and had served with him in his cabinet.

Findings and response

According to the authority’s findings, Anastasiades is under scrutiny over three counts of trading in influence, one count of abuse of power and three counts of attempted commission of a criminal offence.

Anastasiades rejected the findings in an extensive defence. He said the investigators had “violated essential legal rules which govern any investigation” and that the authority’s report fell “far short of expectations for an investigation of such scope and public interest.”

He also said the inspection officers had not given him an opportunity to respond to the findings before publication, describing this as “unacceptable and contrary to every principle of law.”