Fanieros released for lack of evidence

POLICE investigating a massive shares scam have released their chief suspect, Larnaca club owner Antonis Fanieros, for lack of evidence against him.

But the fraud squad insist 55-year-old Fanieros – set free on Sunday – could still be charged once their investigations into a swindle to steal £143,000 from a Dherynia investor are completed.

Two other men, suspected accomplices in the scam, are still being held in police custody.

Police are keen to freeze the bank accounts of all three suspects in an effort to track down the stolen £143,000.

Fanieros insists on his complete innocence. In statements to journalists after his release, he said the £30,000 found in his car at the time of his arrest last month was his own money, which he had withdrawn from his bank account the day before.

Police believe one of the other suspects impersonated Dherynia businessman Georgios Alexandrou in order to sell over 30,000 of his Bank of Cyprus and Louis Cruise Lines shares. The man allegedly got a Nicosia brokerage to sell Alexandrou’s shares for £143,000.

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