Ambassador investigated after fraud accusationAmalia Macris

A CYPRIOT ambassador serving in a European capital is being investigated after a housekeeper working in his home accused him of misappropriating funds.

The woman claims the ambassador asked her to sign a receipt for more money than her actual salary. She alleges the practice took place for six months, during which time she was threatened with deportation if she told anyone. She finally confessed the entire story to other embassy staff.

Foreign Minister George Iacovou yesterday said “a person is innocent until proven guilty” and waiting to hear from the Attorney-general before commenting further.

“An investigation was carried out and a report has been sent to the Attorney-general,” Iacovou said.

“He is the one who will decide whether or not there is a case and which charges, if any, will stand.”

The woman also alleges she was forced to work from 7am until 11pm. She accused the ambassador of threatening to send her back to her country so that she will not be able to testify in court.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.