President Anastasiades Appears in Court as Defense Witness in Erotokritou Bribery Trial
In a historic first for a president-in-office, President Nicos Anastasiades is testifying as a defense witness in former deputy attorney-general Rikkos Erotokritou’s trial for corruption and accepting bribes in Nicosia district court.
The president said he had done his duty for his country, and that from the moment he was called as a witness, he had no choice - if he hadn’t appeared in front of the court it would be contempt.
“If we demand from ordinary citizens to testify, to respect and be lawful citizens, then how much more is the demand from the first citizen of the country,” said the president.
In his testimony, Mr. Anastasiades said that the whole world knew about the bad blood between Erotokritou and Attorney-General Costas Clerides - to the point that he had to hold special meetings with them and give them separate duties within the Legal Services.
It’s not clear what bearing this would have on the case, which centres around corruption allegations.
State prosecutor and legal firms get cosy
Erotokritou, Andreas Kyprizoglou, Andreas Neocleous & Co. LLC, and Panayiotis Neocleous have been charged in Nicosia Criminal Court with various corruption allegations; including bribery of a state official; accepting bribes; and misuse of power.
Erotokritou was fired from his job by Attorney-General Costas Clerides for misconduct, a decision that was backed by the Supreme Court.
Erotokritou said he has nothing to do with the allegations, and asked why he should resign when the attorney-general also has charges pending against him.
In response, Clerides (right) applied for Erotokritou’s dismissal on the grounds of misconduct.
The two men have been at war with each other ever since allegations surfaced from the Central Bank of Cyprus that Erotokritou exchanged favours with other lawyers during a personal Laiki Bank court case that was favourably resolved.
There is evidence that Deputy Attorney-General Rikkos Erotokritou has committed the crime of corruption, according to Panayiotis Kallis, the independent criminal investigator who probed allegations that he exchanged favours with the opposing lawyers in a personal high-profile banking case.
Erotokritou has denied the allegations, which stem from the Central Bank of Cyprus, and in the wake of the accusations has lodged a formal criminal complaint against Attorney-general Costas Clerides accusing him of accepting bribes.
The case went straight to trial without further investigation by the police, since the preliminary evidence was gathered during the independent investigation.
Background
In March, the attorney-general ordered an independent criminal investigation into corruption allegations from former Central Bank board member Stelios Kiliaris, who has accused Deputy Attorney-general Rikkos Erotokritou of accepting a bribe in the form of a ‘favour’ during a lucrative lawsuit with Laiki Bank with Andreas Neocleous & Sons law firm.
According to the evidence cited by Clerides, Erotokritou was involved in an exchange of favours with the law firm, in which his lawsuit against Laiki Bank was settled on favourable terms, and in exchange, he launched prosecutions against several Russians involved in a succession lawsuit with Providencia Holdings Ltd, which was also being represented by Andreas Neocleous & Sons.
Kiliaris then resigned his position on the Central Bank board.
Denials
Deputy attorney-general Erotokritou has also demanded an investigation into the allegations made by Kiliaris, who cited Central Bank Governor Chrystalla Yiorgadjis as the source. In the aftermath of the corruption investigation, he said he would not resign, and accused the attorney-general of suspending valid prosecutions in the Providencia Holdings case, while alleging that Kallis should have called the attorney general to testify in the probe, and that he refused to do so.
The attorney-general’s bank accounts should be looked into, according to Erotokritou.
Andreas Neocleous & Sons law firm has rejected the allegations and threatened to sue the Governor for slander.
Before Easter, Yiorgadjis testified to Panayiotis Kallis and rejected Kiliaris’ claim that she was the source of the information against Erotokritou, telling the media she did not question his integrity.
Former member of the central bank board Stavros Zenios, has also testified and told media that the country has been destroyed by the vested interests from powerful law firms, political officials and large businesses. Mr. Zenios said he could not comment on the current case because of a non-disclosure agreement he signed when he was a board member – he can testify in an investigation and to the House of Representatives (most of whom are lawyers) but cannot disclose central bank decisions to the press.
International implications
Providencia Holdings Ltd was started by Russian entrepreneur Oleg Zakharov, and owns Rosinka townhouse development in Moscow, the home-away-from-home for the richest expatriate executives and the US Embassy, which owns 44 townhouses on the property. Oleg Zakharov died at the age of 55, leaving his two sons almost 100% of the shares in the form of a trust, but they are estranged from Zakharov’s widow, resulting in the succession war.
Counter allegations
There are counter accusations of conflict of interest against Yiorgadjis. Odysseas Michaelides, the government’s auditor-general, says that the central bank governor will gain from her husband’s representation of former chief of Laiki Bank Andreas Vgenopoulos – presenting a conflict of interest for Yiorgadjis.
All the party leaders and President Nicos Anastasiades demanded that Yiorgadjis step down, but she has refused, citing the central bank’s independence.
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Anastasiades Set Good Example, Didn't Place Himself Above Law - CyprusNewsReport.Com