Former parliament speaker Demetris Syllouris pleaded not guilty on Thursday before Nicosia’s Criminal Court, where he is one of two defendants in a high-profile golden passports corruption case.
In his own unsworn statement, the second defendant, Christakis Giovanis, maintained he never considered he had done anything illegal or reprehensible regarding documents he signed in the Nikolay Gornovsky case. He noted the documents were requested or drafted by lawyer Andreas Pittadjis, who represents both himself and the Group.
Syllouris said in his statement that he followed the testimony presented to the court with great attention and declared “categorically that I neither acted in any way nor ever had the intention to act in any way aimed at violating the law” that would satisfy the constituent elements of the charges he faces.
“I declare categorically that I am innocent of all charges I face in this case, which has completely unjustly caused enormous problems for me and my family,” Syllouris said.
Giovani denies wrongdoing over documents
Giovani said in his unsworn statement that in the Nikolay Gornovsky case, he signed documents “requested or drafted” by Andreas Pittadjis, who has been the Group’s lawyer and his own personally for years. “I never thought or believed there was anything reprehensible, nor did I do anything reprehensible,” he said.
The citizenship handling was done by Pittatzis, whose law firm acted as a Provider, Giovani noted.
Former parliament director testifies on China trip
During Thursday’s hearing, Sokratis Sokratous, former Director General of Parliament, gave testimony. He was called by Syllouris’s side regarding certain trips by the former parliament speaker abroad.
Sokratous, who was Director General of Parliament when Syllouris was Speaker, answered questions from Syllouris’s defence regarding a trip to China as then-Speaker in November 2019.
He said an official visit to China took place in November 2019, led by Syllouris as then-Speaker, where a conference on imports and exports to China was held, addressed by Syllouris and foreign leaders.
MPs from all parliamentary parties participated in this mission, he said when asked, noting that the selection of MPs for conference participation is made exclusively by the parties.
Parliamentary diplomacy operations detailed
Sokratous told the court that Syllouris led parliamentary delegations on official visits following invitations from parliaments of other countries and to conferences, requiring no special authorisation.
He said Parliament operates within the framework of parliamentary diplomacy autonomously when it considers it can promote the interests of the Republic of Cyprus. Through parliamentary diplomacy, Parliament can promote economic, cultural and political relations.
Regarding the economic aspect, Sokratous said the aim is to promote the Republic’s economic relations with other countries and with countries outside the EU, with one aspect of this policy being attracting foreign investment to Cyprus.
He added that parliamentary delegations abroad were accompanied by representatives of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) to promote investments in Cyprus, including the Cyprus investment programme.
Court admits presidential authorisation letter
The secretary of the former President of the Republic was also to appear at Thursday’s hearing to recognise one of the exhibits to be submitted by Syllouris’s defence team – a certificate from the former President from March 2015. However, it was decided her presence was not needed after the prosecution agreed to submit the document as evidence.
The letter concerns authorisation the then-President had given to Syllouris for attracting investments to Cyprus.
The next hearing is scheduled for 15 September at 10am, when witnesses called by Giovani’s defence are expected to be examined.
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