https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/january-approval-for-astrazeneca-vaccine-by-ema-unlikely
The European Medicines Authority (EMA) will most likely not be able to approve the Covid-19 vaccine developed by drug maker AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford in January, the watchdog's Deputy Executive Director Noel Wathion said....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/redacted-report-to-be-published-noon
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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/home-searched-over-minister-s-parody-account
Police officers knocked on the door of a woman who manages a Twitter parody account about the justice minister, prompting some social media users to inquire about the incident...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/male-cop-suspended-over-kissing-incident
A male police officer in Nicosia has been suspended after a female colleague said he kissed her on the cheek while she was on duty...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/blame-game-in-full-swing-after-budget-vote
The government in the Republic of Cyprus faced an unprecedented challenge on Thursday, after failing to pass a 2021 budget in the House, with lawmakers approving stopgap measures to keep making payments for the next couple of months...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/police-focus-on-larnaca-in-passport-probe
Police in Larnaca carried out searches on Tuesday in connection with an ongoing criminal probe into golden passports, with reports saying investigators were focusing on at least five persons of interest but were not calling them suspects...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-asked-to-explain-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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cypriot-police-scolded-again-over-spy-van
The Supreme Court in the Republic of Cyprus has recalled an arrest warrant for Avraham Shahak Avni, a Jewish community leader who is implicated in the spy van probe, ruling that police had no reasonable basis to detain a man who had been otherwise cooperating with authorities from the get-go...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/auditor-general-makes-jiu-jitsu-move
The audit office is reportedly preparing an unflattering report on Cyprus’ film industry government scheme, with local media suggesting some type of possible connection between newly-established Olivewood and golden passports...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/experts-assist-in-cyprus-spy-van-probe
Following months of sluggish investigation into Cyprus’ spy van, police investigators are reportedly in the process of drafting their final report while another expert is due to arrive on the island to lend a hand...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/al-jazeera-turns-attention-to-jho-low
Cypriot-naturalized citizen Jho Low, the Malaysian fugitive financier whose golden passports came under scrutiny last year, was back in the news this week after Al Jazeera published a video with actual voice recordings of 'the biggest fish' seeking a way out of the 1MDB colossal scandal...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/al-jazeera-video-stirs-privacy-debate
The former speaker of the House is reportedly calling on the chief of police to investigate two Al Jazeera journalists, saying they violated his rights when a hidden camera was used to capture footage that became part of the network’s corruption investigation known as The Cyprus Papers...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/citizens-to-protest-over-passport-probe
A new demonstration will take place outside the Presidential Palace on Friday, with protesters gathering to express their frustration over the government’s handling of the golden passport scandal and demand that officials take ownership of the crisis...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/passport-committee-shuns-media-over-covid
The special investigative committee probing the passport scandal in the Republic of Cyprus cited the pandemic this week after banning reporters from hearings, while it was unclear how Thursday’s additional COVID measures would further affect media coverage...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/anti-corruption-measures-on-the-way-anastasiades-says
President Nicos Anastasiades said Friday he will be announcing new measures aiming to crack down on corruption next week.
...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/police-search-homes-offices-of-those-implicated-in-al-jazeera-video
Police on Thursday searched the homes and offices of the people embroiled in the Al Jazeera video on the Cyprus Papers that caused ongoing political turmoil on the island.
...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/wsj-says-steele-dossier-source-in-cyprus
A Wall Street Journal publication suggests that one of the sources in a secret Trump dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele was a disgruntled Russian executive in Cyprus...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/constitutional-crisis-unfolds-over-passports
An unprecedented constitutional crisis has been unfolding in the Republic of Cyprus, with the attorney general publicly scolding an inquisitive auditor general and asking him to back off from seeking access to files in connection with golden passports linked to a casino project...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/attorney-general-calls-auditor-‘to-order
Cypriot Attorney General George Savvides issued a stern warning on Saturday, calling to order the state’s auditor general over his insistence on examining specific golden passport case files linked to a casino project on the island...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/opposition-turns-up-pressure-over-passport-scandal
Parliament in Cyprus is expected to debate proposals over the passport scandal, including whether a new law can force the government to hand over files to the auditor general as well as a freeze on pending applications allegedly being squeezed through before the disgraced scheme is set to go on hiatus...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/president-defends-block-on-audit-office
President Nicos Anastasiades invoked the Constitution during a televised interview, saying the job description of the auditor general, who is currently seeking information on foreign nationals linked to a casino project, does not authorize him to 'have a say in everything'...
