New date for Politis trial

YIANNIS Papadopoulos, the publisher of Politis newspaper, is to appear in court on June 16 to answer charges of violating foreign exchange and corporate taxation laws.

The case revolves around the sale of Papadopoulos’ shares in Cypriot company AMER to American multinational AC Nielsen in 1994. According to the Central Bank, which initiated the investigation, Papadopoulos did not bring in to Cyprus any money from the deal – worth an estimated $45 million – in violation of the law.

The probe was launched on the orders of the top bank’s governor Christodoulos Christodoulou, after he received an “anonymous letter” last year pointing to discrepancies in the deal.

Papadopoulos insists he did nothing wrong, as the proceeds from the sale were not subject to taxation. Moreover, Politis questioned the motives behind the charges, noting that foreign exchange restrictions have been abolished since EU accession.

The police inquiry was reportedly launched just one day before the alleged offence was due to expire under the statute of limitations, 11 years after it was supposedly committed.

Politis claims Christodoulou is waging a personal vendetta because the paper had in the past suggested he had abused his position as Central Bank governor.
In a statement released over the weekend, Christodoulou denied that he was driven by personal animosity against Papadopoulos.

“I do not have a personal interest in Mr Papadopoulos’ case. I do not have the time or emotions to spare for Papadopoulos’ sake,” read the statement.

“That said, I am not about to turn a blind eye to the actions of any nouveau riche or multi-millionaire publisher, Mr Papadopoulos included.”

Previous reports that the first hearing in the trial had been set for yesterday were apparently due to a clerical error. Papadopoulos has not yet been served a summons, nor has he been questioned by police.

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.