SBA Police probe corrupt official in pizzo case

A local man working for the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus is facing corruption charges, where he is being accused of receiving money from businesses in order to turn a blind eye on violations.

According to local media, a 48-year-old Greek Cypriot male was detained by SBA police following allegations that the British Base employee had received money under the table in order not to issue citations against businesses.

SBA detectives have launched an investigation with at least seven complaints having been filed against the suspect, who was briefly arrested on multiple corruption-related charges before making bail set at €10,000.

SBA Police Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Dave Purvis called on members of the public to come forward with any information in the case, including business owners who may have been issued citations and fines by the suspect but refused to pay pizzo money.

SBA officials did not provide details about specific cases but ine one case, according to Philenews, an individual was purported to have paid the suspect €6000 to keep him out of court.

“I wanted to reassure all members of the public that allegations of this nature are treated very seriously by the SBA police as we are committed to tackling corruption and rooting out any bad apples within the Bases,” Purvis said.

Dozens of individuals are expected to give statements to detectives in connection with the case.