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61. Cyprus’ passport committee issues final report

Over half of the golden passports approved by the President’s Cabinet in the Republic of Cyprus were illegal, a special committee has found, and it is now up to the attorney general to ascertain whether any ministers may have had fraudulent intent...

62. Legal battle heats up in golden passports

The top two chief law enforcers in the Republic of Cyprus are taking the parliament to court over a resolution, in which members called on the two officials to recuse themselves in the golden passport probe after raising conflict of interest issues...

63. Cyprus drops case against pandemic protester

State prosecutors have dropped a case against a protester who was being accused of health law violations during a demonstration amid pandemic restrictions, but the Legal department says constitutionality questions raised by his lawyer are still pending...

64. Stars in Al Jazeera video face committee

65. Director wants passport probe clear his name

A civil servant, whose name was dropped by the former House speaker during a secret video recording by Al Jazeera, says he did not get involved with golden passports during his tenure as director of the interior ministry, vowing to take legal action if an investigative committee failed to clear his name...

66. Interim report on golden passports delivered

An interim report on the golden passport scandal in the Republic of Cyprus says just over half of citizenships granted by the executive branch were not approved lawfully...

67. Gloves are off again over golden passports

Cyprus’ auditor general told a House committee this week that the Cabinet used old rules to approve over two hundred golden passports after the cutoff date for an investigation ordered by the attorney general, who pushed back on the criticism saying there was 'no bottom to the abyss'...

68. Damning State Dep. report highlights Cyprus human rights issues

A US State Department country report on human rights practices in 2020 proved damning for Cyprus which was found to have had significant human rights issues last year....

69. Cabinet proposes local administration reform referendum in May

The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to schedule the islandwide referendum on the local administration reform on the same date that the public will be heading to ballot boxes anyway to cast their vote in the parliamentary elections on May 30....

70. Local government reform on the ballot

Interior Minister Nicos Nouris is calling for local government reform to be decided by voters during parliamentary elections, citing his frustration over a long and protracted debate on the issue...

71. Doctor’s sexual misconduct trial goes forward

A sexual assault case against a doctor with a large medical practice in Cyprus is moving forward, while questions have been raised over a messenger company that failed for months to serve him court documents as well as a prior conviction that fell through the cracks...

72. Archbishop will restore demolished houses, DISY Councillor says

Attorney General Giorgos Savvides, weighed in on the commotion caused by the Archbishopric’s unlawful demolition on Monday of four listed houses adjacent of its under-construction Cathedral project in the old town of Nicosia....

73. Supreme Court says Twitter warrant was illegal

The Supreme Court has ruled that a police search warrant, in connection with a complaint filed by Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis over a Twitter parody account, was unlawful...

74. President lashes out at critics

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in a televised address on Thursday rejected allegations of corruption within his office and administration, accusing the opposition and media of singling out his former law firm for being involved with golden passports and appealing on the political parties’ patriotism to support a new strategic plan to fight corruption...

75. Dueling small parties help pass budget

The House in the Republic of Cyprus approved a revision of the government’s 2021 state budget on Thursday, following a month of consultations between the administration and small opposition parties that offered additional amendments to the bill...

76. Shooting Federation uncovers more sexual abuse cases

The Cyprus Shooting Federation has become aware of four more cases of sexual abuse by the same perpetrator allegedly involved in the case filed with police on Wednesday by Olympic shooting athlete Andri Eleftheriou, reports said Thursday....

77. Reporters to sit in on golden passport hearings

A number of reporters will be allowed from now on to attend ongoing probe hearings into alleged corruption in connection with Cyprus’ disgraced Citizenship by Investment Programme, with journalists being asked to commit in advance not to breach data privacy laws...

78. Churchgoers, verger booked after jam-packed Epiphany service

Police have booked nine churchgoers and the verger of the church who openly defied government coronavirus restrictions on Wednesday during the Epiphany service held by the controversial Morphou Bishop Neophytos, who has since the outbreak of the pandemic caused headaches to authorities by outspokenly refusing to comply with government restrictions....

79. Kalogerou probe fails to impress opposition

The chair of the ad hoc committee that looked into allegations of wrongdoing last year as Cyprus’ golden passports scandal was unfolding defended the choice to go after high profile cases, following criticism from opposition parties that say the focus was too narrow...

80. Report says ministry was shuffling papers

An initial redacted report on golden passports made public in the Republic of Cyprus on Tuesday painted a picture of an Interior Ministry serving as a “filing office” without ability to examine cases in any meaningful way, with opposition crying foul over the committees’ selective method...

81. Redacted report on golden passports published

A redacted version of the Kalogerou report on golden passports is expected to be made public on Tuesday afternoon, amid criticism of the government from opposition parties calling for transparency in probing corruption allegations...

82. DIKO raises conflict of interest for AG

DIKO president Nicholas Papadopoulos has raised concerns over conflicts of interest for the state’s attorney general in connection with a golden passports investigation, following a statement from the Presidential Palace on publicizing some findings but not in their entirety...

83. Cyprus’ passport probe dispute widens

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and DIKO party leader Nicholas Papadopoulos took their disagreement over probing golden passports to a whole new level this week, while questions remained over the independent committee’s reassurances of transparency in the investigation...

84. AG says release of 'golden passports' files would harm investigations

The findings of the investigative committee looking into the Cyprus’ disgraced Citizenship by Investment scheme will be made public to the degree that will not affect public interest, Attorney General Giorgos Savvides said Friday....

85. State budget battles rage on in Cyprus

Ruling party DYSI has been mounting a campaign over the last 24 hours to secure votes to pass the state budget, which is up in the air over golden passport probe wars, with added pressure also causing rifts even within smaller parties...

86. Cyprus asked to clarify passport probe impasse

The Cypriot government says it will comply with a request from an international organization of audit institutions, which asked to hear the administration’s view over the golden passports probe impasse after the state’s auditor sought support from the global network...

87. Prosecution against working mom suspended

The state’s attorney general has suspended criminal prosecution against a mother in Limassol, after a citizen took the woman’s young daughter to a police station saying she was found alone at a local park...

88. Golden passport findings hard to come by

The president of the Cyprus Bar Association says he has received adequate information from the audit office in connection with golden passports, adding that other agencies and officials have refused to share their findings citing direct orders from the interior minister...

89. State budget up in the air over golden passports

Opposition parties are cranking up the pressure on Interior Minister Nikos Nouris, who has been refusing to hand over files in connection with the golden passports scandal, with the Democratic Party making good on its promise not to vote the state budget later this month if there is no transparency...

90. Government ups rhetoric against auditor

The Cypriot government hinted over the weekend it might refer the auditor general to the Supreme Court over “indecent” behaviour, after the audit office published yet another damning report alleging offences in a Cabinet decision to grant investor passports to individuals linked to a casino project without meeting the criteria...