Criminal case in passport scandal set for September 12th

The criminal case against four people in the "golden passport" scandal, exposed by Al Jazeera in October 2020, is scheduled to be brought to trial on September 12, according to the state prosecutor Elena Kleopa, who briefed the Parliamentary Control Committee today on the progress of the cases relating to the Cyprus Investment Program.

The indictment consists of five charges related to conspiracy offenses to defraud the Republic, influencing a public official in violation of the law ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on the Criminalisation of Corruption.

Former President of the House of Representatives Demetris Syllouris and member of the House, Christakis Giovani, resigned after Al Jazeera broadcasted an expose in October 2020 entitled ‘The Cyprus Papers – Undercover’. The documentary filmed undercover reporters who captured extensive evidence of government corruption related to the Citizenship by Investment program (CIP).