By Elias Hazou
THE CHURCH authorities will have to join the queue if they want to question missing Limassol bishop Chrysanthos when he returns from abroad, with the Attorney-General and local police also waiting to interrogate the controversial cleric.
The Holy Synod has said that Chrysanthos’ business dealings are in violation of ecclesiastical laws, and that the bishop’s methods besmirch the name of the Holy Church.
Chrysanthos’ lawyer Sotiris Karapatakis said yesterday that the bishop was due on Wednesday or Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Scotland Yard detectives who arrived on the island last Tuesday in connection with the case are wrapping up their investigation into the alleged fraud to which the bishop has been linked and are set to depart today. They are looking into a $3.7 million fraud case in which cash is alleged to have ended up in the Nicosia offshore branch of Belgrade- based Karic Banka.
Justice Minister Nicos Koshis said on Sunday that the detectives were now turning their investigation to money laundering. He also confirmed that Chrysanthos was the only Cyprus suspect in the investigation. British police are already holding three suspects in the United Kingdom in connection with the case. Last week, Koshis suggested that the bishop might be waiting for the detectives to leave before he might return. But police sources confirmed that the bishop would be questioned by local authorities and not by the detectives.
On Saturday Archbishop Chrysostomos met with Attorney-General Alecos Markides, who briefed him on the ongoing investigation.
The Archbishop has reportedly discussed with the Holy Synod the possibility of defrocking the missing bishop. As soon as the bishop returns, he intends to question him over a case involving the transfer of $700,000 to the Limassol bishopric from the Russian Orthodox Church. The money was intended for the construction of a Russian church in Limassol, but building never actually began.
The Church is also concerned about allegations of charity money intended for community projects being withheld by the Limassol bishopric.
Paphos bishop Chrysostomos told reporters that the Church “was not against” making good on the money owed by the Limassol bishopric.
Chrysostomos meanwhile is himself involved in controversy. Parishioners at Stroumbi village in Paphos have accused him of withholding charity money. He has also clashed with the Paphos municipality, which accused him of buying lands with Church funds and disposing of them as he saw fit.
