Haris Poyiadjis, head of the Independent Authority against Corruption, has informed former President Nicos Anastasiades of the findings of the “Mafia State” investigation, philenews has learned.
The contact between the Transparency Commissioner and the former senior state official took place a short time ago.
The other individuals named in the investigation’s findings are being notified by email.
The findings are expected to be announced at around 11am.
The background
First published in late 2022, “Mafia State” is authored by investigative journalist Makarios Drousiotis. The book portrays Cyprus as a systemically corrupt state and levels allegations at former president Nicos Anastasiades and other senior officials, including claims of how people commented to the former president abolished the rule of law and accusations that Anastasiades facilitated the affairs of Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev in exchange for favours.
Drousiotis also purports to have documented a clandestine network of politicians, lawyers and business figures involved in rigged trials, and alleges that state-sponsored wiretapping and electronic surveillance were used against him after he investigated these corruption networks.
Drousiotis’s book was partly based on his time as an adviser to Anastasiades during the first two years of his presidency from 2013 to 2023.
Anastasiades has rejected all allegations and has sued Drousiotis for defamation.
Anastasiades is suing Drousiotis for more than €2 million, claiming damages for defamation, and has demanded the books be taken out of publication. Drousiotis’s lawyer has accused Anastasiades of initiating a strategic lawsuit against public participation — a SLAPP — in an attempt to silence him.
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