Supreme Court allows Savvas Kakos to challenge arrest warrant
The Supreme Court found an arguable case that an arrest warrant for businessman Savvas Kakos may have been issued without required conditions or full information.
Nicosia, Cyprus. The Supreme Court has permitted Larnaca businessman Savvas Kakos to challenge an arrest warrant issued during a police investigation into 11 complaints alleging fraud, forgery, false representations and money laundering.
The court found that Kakos had established an arguable case that the warrant may have been issued without the required conditions being met and without all relevant information being presented to the lower court.
Supreme Court decision
The decision was issued on Thursday following an appeal by Kakos, 62, against the warrant.
The Supreme Court found that Kakos had presented an arguable case that the warrant was issued beyond police authority and that the necessary legal conditions may not have been satisfied.
It also found that relevant information had not been presented to the lower court when police sought the warrant.
Arguments over arrest
Police had argued that Kakos needed to be arrested because he could influence witnesses or destroy documents linked to the investigation.
His lawyers, Antonis Demetriou and Chara Alexandrou, argued that their client had been aware of the allegations for a long time and had therefore already had the opportunity to influence witnesses or remove evidence had he intended to do so.
They also said police had secured a search warrant for the offices where the documents were believed to be held, allowing the material to be seized without arresting Kakos.
Next steps
The Supreme Court found that the latest complaint against Kakos had not been separated from the earlier complaints in a manner that would justify the arrest warrant on its own. The warrant instead referred to all cases under investigation.
Kakos has been granted permission to formally apply for the warrant to be cancelled. The legal service must decide whether to oppose the application.
If the legal service objects, the Supreme Court will hear arguments from both sides before issuing a decision. If it does not object, the warrant is expected to be cancelled.
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