Paphos Sewerage Board scandal grows with further arrests

By Constantinos Psyllides
AKEL municipal councillor Giorgos Siailis was arrested on Monday in connection with the Paphos Sewerage board scandal.
Police arrested him after taking a statement from Greek businessman Christos Drakopoulos, who was arrested on Sunday at Larnaca airport.
This is the second time Sialis has been arrested. Police investigators attempted to have him remanded three weeks ago after a statement by former mayor Savvas Vergas but the Paphos district court threw the case out. Legal Services filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, which ruled last week that the District Court did not adhere to the law.
Christos Drakopoulos, the CEO of ENVITEC, a waste-management company based in Greece, had reportedly secured a contract to build a waste-management plant for the Sewerage Board after bribing town officials and municipal councillors.
Drakopoulos was arrested at Larnaca airport on his arrival from Greece. He surrendered to the authorities voluntarily after police had secured an international warrant for him.
The CEO gave a statement to investigators two weeks ago regarding his involvement in the scandal. He is expected to be a key witness in the case and it has been alleged he is one of several contractors who paid Vergas and Sewerage Board Manager Eftychios Malekkides large amounts of money in kickbacks.
The sewerage project that Vergas and Malekkides were handling should have cost €78m, but taxpayers have so far paid €109m, with contractors claiming around €25m more. The two men are suspected of inflating the project’s budget in order to receive kickbacks from contractors.
According to the head investigator’s testimony in court during Vergas’ remand hearing three weeks ago, Drakopoulos gave Malekkides £200,000 (around €340,000) to split between himself, Vergas and two other municipal councillors.
The official told authorities how Drakopoulos left the municipality only to return after a while with nylon bags filled with stacks of money.
Police have thus far arrested and released the CEOs of NEMESIS, Andreas Chimarides, and MEDCON’s Kyriakos Chrysochos.
Meanwhile, Vergas, Malekkides and former municipal councillors of DISY Giorgos Michaelides, DIKO Efstathios Efstathiou and AKEL Vasos Vasileiou were remanded for eight more days in custody on Sunday. It’s the third consecutive eight-day remand for Vergas, Mallikides and Michaelides.
The suspects were initially set to be released and referred to the Criminal Court for trial, since police had wrapped up the investigation. But, everything changed on Friday after Malekkides broke his silence, giving a statement to the police that went on until the early hours of Saturday.
In his statement, Malekkides said he was approached by a municipal councillor who is now deceased and former Paphos mayor – now EDEK MP – Fidias Sarikas to take a bribe on the sewerage construction project. Malekkides said Vergas continued where Sarikas left off and that he tried to put an end to the scandal but was blackmailed by Vergas to keep silent.
Sarikas has denied Malekkides’ accusations. The EDEK MP officially requested for his immunity to be lifted on Monday so as to assist authorities with their investigation.
In a statement last week Vergas said he was blackmailed into maintaining the status quo by a racket run by Malekkides and consisting of members from all political parties.

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