District court judge under investigation after tampering allegations

A district court judge is under investigation for allegedly tampering with court transcripts, it emerged this week.

Daily Phileleftheros, which broke the story, said a complaint was filed to police by one of the litigants regarding a case that was tried by the judge in question.

The accusation is that the judge engaged in a “rigged, tainted and fraudulent” process, allegedly to benefit one of the litigants.

Based on the complaint, attorney-general Costas Clerides instructed police to investigate the judge. According to the paper, the probe began about six months ago.

The attorney-general was expected soon to decide on whether the judge should be indicted.

The case concerned a dispute between two companies. According to the complaint, the judge’s brother – whose name did come up during the trial – was a long-time employee of one of the litigants.

It is alleged that the judge falsified the court transcripts to benefit the litigants with whom his brother was associated.

Phileleftheros said authorities have been given a GoogleDrive link to documentation as well as a portable storage device containing an audio recording of the hearings in the case.

Police are examining the material, but it remains to be determined whether audio recordings of court cases are lawful in Cyprus and, if so, whether such audio would be admissible as evidence.

Sources familiar with the matter told the Cyprus Mail that this is not the first time that a civilian has accused a judge of corruption.

However, previous complaints were proved to be unfounded.

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.