Search

271. 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...

272. 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...

273. 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...

274. Cabinet shrinks security detail for VIPs

Party leaders and former state officials in the Republic of Cyprus will see their security detail downsized following a Cabinet decision on Thursday, also tasking police to evaluate the size of the presidential guard...

275. Cyprus' 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...

276. 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...

277. 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...

278. Cypriots to protest over golden passports 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...

279. 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...

280. 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. ...

281. 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. ...

282. MPs reject dissolution of parliament amid passports scandal

After officially electing AKEL MP Adamos Adamou as the new House President following the resignation of Demetris Syllouris amid intense backlash against his involvement in the recent golden passports scandal, MPs on Thursday debated on whether parliament should be dissolved making way for early elections, with the proposal eventually rejected with 26 votes in favour and 30 against....

283. Opposition turns up pressure over passports

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...

284. Reynders: 'golden passport' schemes must be abolished

The EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders briefed the plenary of the European Parliament on Thursday on the Commission’s decision to initiate infringement proceedings against Cyprus and Malta in view of their ‘golden passports’ schemes which appear to be in violation of EU law....

285. 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'...

286. Police get to work on passport scandal

Cypriot police appear to have their plate full with three different probes into alleged corruption in the golden passport scheme, with investigators facing their biggest challenge by a shocking Al Jazeera video that dealt the fatal blow in the country’s Citizenship by Investment Programme...

287. Cypriot minister has one regret over passports

Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides, who oversaw Cyprus' disgraced golden passport scheme while he was serving as interior minister, says he should have pushed harder to end the program much sooner...

288. 'Father of the House' calls for calm

AKEL MP Adamos Adamou became the Republic of Cyprus’ new House Speaker on Friday, as well as acting president, following the resignation of Demetris Syllouris amid a passport scandal and a pending investigation...

289. Game plan to circumvent passport rules

Meme culture enthusiasts in Cyprus upped their game this week following a passport scandal reported by Al Jazeera, with catchphrases such as “this is Cyprus” and name dodging tricks seen in a secret video prompting media to spot five ways a lawyer could circumvent the system in the golden passport scheme...

290. AG: Recent revelations 'shameful' for Cyprus

Everything we’ve witnessed, regardless of their legal dimensions, bring shame to Cyprus, attorney general George Savvides said Thursday....

291. House Speaker resigns over passport scandal

House Speaker Demetris Syllouris resigned on Thursday following public outcry over his involvement in a golden passport scandal exposed by Al Jazeera...

292. Cypriots rise up against corruption

A crowd of protesters gathered outside Filoxenia Conference Centre in Nicosia on Wednesday evening, calling on House Speaker Demitris Syllouris to resign after he was featured in an Al Jazeera undercover story on corruption...

293. Syllouris accepts waiving of his parliamentary immunity

President of the Cyprus Parliament Demetris Syllouris said Wednesday that he won’t stand in the way of his parliamentary immunity being waved to accommodate a probe launched by local police after a fresh batch of Al Jazeera allegations situated him at the epicentre of a massive corruption scandal involving the island’s golden passports scheme....

294. Judge in Cypriot passport probe resigns

Retired Supreme Court Judge Costas Pampallis has resigned from his position as a member of an indepednent investigative committee, a team that was tasked to sift through Cyprus’ golden passport scheme in the wake of corruption scandals and systemic failures...

295. MOKAS refutes lawyer claim in passport scandal

The Republic of Cyprus’ Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS) has weighed in on the passport scandal following Al Jazeera’s earth-shuttering investigative report on corruption in the island’s Citizenship by Investment programme...

296. Probe launched against Al Jazeera operation

The state attorney ordered a probe following a complaint filed by high-profile Cypriot officials targeted by an Al Jazeera secret investigation on corruption, with members of the public outraged as more shocking revelations emerged in a new Cyprus Papers video...

297. Passport revocation inquiries move forward

Cypriot authorities have identified seven individuals or foreign investors who could potentially be stripped of their Cypriot citizenship, after an internal probe pointed to forged documents or misleading information during the golden passport application process...

298. Passports under the watchful eye of the Commission

299. Politics turn ugly over Cyprus Papers

The main left party opposition in the Republic of Cyprus is firing back at the government, after reports emerged over threats and a confidential letter about Cypriot golden passports a decade earlier...

300. Curtain rising for citizenship-by-investment program

The Presidency has before it four scenarios for dealing with the issue of purchased citizenships. The most likely possibility is that of suspending the investment program for a short period, as revealed by Kathimerini on Sunday....