THE GOVERNMENT yesterday said there was nothing untoward with a donation made to President Papadopoulos’ 2003 election campaign by a foreign company.
Broken by Politis newspaper, the story went that Watford Petroleum Ukraine Holding Limited, a Britain-based company, donated some £50,000 to Papadopoulos’ campaign through the law office of Pollakis Sarris, who also happened to be a close aide to the President.
But the company, which from 1999 to 2002 engaged in supplies of predominantly Russian petroleum to Ukrainian oil refineries, disputes this: it says the money was for services rendered by Pollakis’ law firm on their behalf in a litigation involving court sessions in the UK and Cyprus.
During the course of the litigation, Watford Petroleum decided to terminate the services of Sarris’ firm, hiring another lawyer by the name of Theophanis Andreou.
But before doing so, the company ought to have settled its outstanding accounts with its previous legal advisers.
Watford Petroleum says it did, claiming £50,000 was paid directly into Sarris’ client account.
But according to correspondence revealed by Politis, in February 2003 – days before the presidential elections – a senior Watford Petroleum executive met privately with Papadopoulos at Sarris’ house. There the executive reportedly expressed admiration for Papadopoulos’ policies, and later informed Sarris’ daughter – who now runs the law firm – that he wished to make a donation.
The donation would be made indirectly – the money would be deposited into an account owned by Sarris’ firm, and then transferred to Papadopoulos’ election campaign.
Watford Petroleum has denied any of this took place.
The money has been accounted for – all the relevant receipts and documentation are there. They show that the sum was paid to Papadopoulos’ election campaign staff on February 27, 11 days after Election Day.
With the support of a broad coalition, Papadopoulos went on to win by a wide margin from round one.
Yesterday Sarris’ law firm released a statement, in which it fingered Theophanis Andreou – the lawyer who took over Watford Petroleum’s case – for the leak.
Pollakis Sarris & Co. Lawyers said it had an outstanding dispute with Andreou, whom it had reported to the Bar Disciplinary Council for alleged breach of ethics.
According to Sarris’ firm, Andreou offered them a deal: admit that the contested amount was for lawyer’s fees and settle the matter amiably; otherwise, Andreou threatened to tell the papers that the money went to Papadopoulos’ election campaign through devious means.
Sarris’ firm refused to play ball.
For his part, government spokesman Christodoulos Pashardis said yesterday there was “nothing suspicious” about the affair.
“There are receipts validating the donation. The law was not broken in any way, and besides it is not the first time that a foreign company does this,” he said.
The President himself declined to comment, urging newsmen to contact Sarris’ office for details. He also denied any knowledge of Watford Petroleum.
Sarris stepped down as Presidential Commissioner in April of last year in rather mysterious circumstances. At the time he said he wanted to return to his law office to take care of business.
At any rate, the affair has seen a reversal of roles: back in 2004, it was Papadopoulos who alleged that American cash was pumped through the UNOPS Bi-Communal Development Programme (BDP) to promote the Annan plan before the referendum.
The implication then was that pro-Annan supporters were receiving aid from foreign circles keen on forcing the UN-brokered blueprint on the people of Cyprus.
??
??
??
??
