Newsroom
Former Strovolos mayor Andreas Papacharalambous has pushed back strongly against what he describes as a coordinated effort to damage his reputation, rejecting claims that the municipality lost money during his time in office and accusing both a local newspaper and the current mayor of spreading false and misleading information.
In a written statement, Papacharalambous said recent reports, including front-page coverage in the newspaper 'Alithia,' wrongly suggest that a €200,000 payment owed to the Municipality of Strovolos was never received. He said the claims amount to “slander and lies” and distort the facts of a case involving a company that was undergoing loan restructuring and struggling to meet its financial obligations to the municipality.
According to Papacharalambous, the €200,000 was paid in full by check dated January 16, 2020, and was cashed by the municipality on January 22 of that year. He said assertions that the check was returned to the issuer and that the municipality “did not receive a single euro” are simply untrue.
The current Strovolos municipal authorities tell a different story.
In a separate statement, the Municipality of Strovolos said the overall debt of the businessman involved, who operates businesses in Strovolos and owes more than €2 million, has not been reduced but has grown, despite negotiations and agreements made during Papacharalambous’ term as mayor.
The municipality said it is taking all necessary steps to recover the outstanding amounts and stressed that the current municipal council and Mayor Stavros Stavrinidis are acting collectively and with full transparency, prioritizing the interests of Strovolos residents.
Officials said the statement was issued in response to a wave of media reports and social media posts in recent days that revisited how the former mayor handled the attempted settlement of the large debt.
The dispute has turned into a public back-and-forth over who is telling the truth and who is misleading the public as both sides dig in over a case that continues to raise questions about accountability, transparency, and the handling of major debts to local authorities.
