Search

331. 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...

332. Mild-mannered Stylianides back in action

Former European Commissioner Christos Stylianides will be appointed special adviser to Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas, Politico’s Playbook said Wednesday...

333. Syllouris declines questions in passport probe

A former Cypriot parliamentary speaker secretly filmed in an expose on a now discredited cash-for-passports scheme declined to answer questions on Wednesday into his role in a scandal which rocked the island nation...

334. Stars in Al Jazeera video face committee

335. 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...

336. 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...

337. 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'...

338. Cyprus hurries to clean up company registry

Energy Minister Natasa Pilides has called on business stakeholders in Cyprus to embrace a new effort of recording and updating true information about beneficiaries of companies, saying a new digital registry can bolster transparency on the island...

339. Cyprus backs King in Jordan’s ‘malicious plot’

The government of the Republic of Cyprus has expressed 'firm support' to King Abdullah over the weekend, after Jordan’s government officials accused the country’s former crown prince of plotting against the kingdom...

340. 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....

341. Fence wars break out near buffer zone

Opposing camps have been making headlines recently over a controversial barbwire fence near the buffer zone, with one group cutting a piece of barbed wire and the other restoring it, with all caught on tape...

342. House Speaker says Parliament must 'raise its standards'

House Speaker Adamos Adamou said that Parliament has an obligation to raise its standards and improve its image to the public, who are turning away from politics and politicians and especially Parliament....

343. Police back off as peaceful marchers defy ban

Thousands took to the streets in Nicosia over the weekend to protest against a controversial ban on peaceful assembly, with marchers and officers on their best behavior after an earlier anti-corruption demonstration was put down by use of force...

344. Cyprus Parliament approves Code of Conduct for MPs

Parliament on Thursday approved a decision enacting the Code of Conduct for MPs, implementing a recommendation by Greco, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption monitoring body....

345. Probe into police brutality has three-month deadline

The independent authority for the investigation of allegations and complaints against the police said Thursday that it instructed the four criminal investigators probing complaints of police brutality at last Saturday’s protest to wrap up investigations within three months....

346. Cop with covered badge number in hot water

A member of an elite police unit is under investigation following reports that the ID number on his helmet had been covered during an operation at a protest in downtown Nicosia...

347. New devastating bombshell in Alexoui case

The attorneys for Alexoui and Rudolf in a long and protracted attempted murder trial dropped another bombshell this week, alleging “serious criminal offences” involving police and possibly the Legal Department...

348. Defying clampdown, Cyprus activists to protest again over graft

Anti-corruption campaigners in Cyprus will protest again on Feb. 20, they said on Tuesday, after a violent clampdown by police at an event on Feb. 13 drew widespread condemnation....

349. Yiolitis says police did not have orders to exert violence

Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis said Monday that police did not have instructions to use brutal violence against protestors in Nicosia on Saturday, though critical MPs stress that it is obvious that the police response was decided in advance with those responsible avoiding responsibility....

350. Police admit wrongful handling in Yioliti parody account shambles

A tense House human rights committee session took place Monday in the presence of the Justice Minister Emily Yioliti and the chief of police Stelios Papatheodorou, with Yioliti receiving fire from multiple fronts over the Twitter parody account shambles and the unprecedented police brutality that marked an anti-corruption protest on Saturday....

351. Protesters accuse cops of police brutality

A probe into alleged police brutality has been launched after law enforcement officials were criticized over a heavy-handed response to a peaceful protest against corruption in downtown Nicosia on Saturday...

352. Yiolitis says police acted lawfully

Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis says police did things by the book in the Twitter parody case, rejecting media reports that she blamed law enforcement for an investigation later deemed illegal by the Supreme Court...

353. Emails from Cyprus connect dots on Jho Low

New information published by OCCRP suggests that Henley & Partners identified Jho Low as a high-risk client but worked with him anyway through a Cypriot company to get him a golden passport...

354. Former AG says he cautioned over passports

The state’s former attorney general says his department had cautioned the government years ago that the country’s golden passport scheme might have been incompatible with European law, essentially contradicting the executive branch's position that nobody had said anything...

355. Cyprus president testifies on golden passports

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades is expected to testify on Tuesday before the independent committee probing corruption allegations in the country’s golden passport scheme, just days after he lashed out at critics during a national address on the fight against corruption...

356. Cyprus unveils plan to tackle corruption

Cyprus’ fight against corruption is based on three pillars, President Anastasiades said Friday, announcing the eagerly-awaited steps the government will take in a bid to restore credibility to the Republic after its reputation was shattered by revelations of corruption through the nixed Citizenship-by-Investment Program (CIP)....

357. 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...

358. Lawyer says Al Jazeera took him out of context

Cypriot attorney Andreas Pittadjis, who was targeted in an Al Jazeera undercover investigation into allegations of corruption over golden passports, took to social media to reiterate his position he did nothing illegal, accusing the foreign network of being dishonest...

359. Ex-cop who forged parolee signature arrested

Police on Friday arrested an ex-special police officer after evidence was uncovered pointing to corruption....

360. 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...