The highly anticipated trial involving the Al Jazeera golden passports case has been postponed yet again.
The criminal case stems from a 2020 Al Jazeera investigative report alleging corruption. Three individuals are charged: former House Speaker Demetris Syllouris, former AKEL MP Christakis Giovanis, and Antonis Antoniou a senior executive at Giovani’s company, is now scheduled to begin on January 13, 2025..
The charges include bribery, conspiracy to defraud, and influence peddling, primarily related to the naturalisation of foreign investors.
The Nicosia Criminal Court will convene on December 16 to finalise the trial plans. Today’s hearing was delayed due to an ongoing murder trial.
The disgraced Cyprus citizenship-by-investment scheme (known as the golden passports scheme) was “definitively and irrevocably terminated” following an undercover investigation by Al Jazeera.
The Al Jazeera film revealed rampant corruption and that the government approved issuing passports to international criminals and fugitives, sparking protests in Cyprus.
Meanwhile, the European Commission initiated infringement proceedings against Cyprus over the matter. It considered “that the granting of EU citizenship for pre-determined payments or investments without any genuine link with the Member States concerned, undermines the essence of EU citizenship.”
Under the scheme, foreign nationals were able to acquire a Cypriot passport by investing more than €2 million in the country.
