TWO MEN accused of stealing around £300,000 from the Archbishopric were yesterday acquitted by a Nicosia Criminal Court.
The verdict, which underlined the lack of evidence against the two defendants, also came as a bitter-sweet vindication to the family of another former Archbishopric accountant, Elias Demetriou, who committed suicide just days after being charged on similar counts by police in December 2003.
The two men on trial, Iosif Demetriou, a close relative and one-time chauffeur of former Archbishop Chrysostomos, and Chrysostomos Philipou, chief accountant at the Archbishopric, were accused of stealing money from the Church by forging the former Archbishop’s initials and handwriting.
They both faced 14 charges relating to forgery, circulating falsified documents, theft, obtaining money under false pretences, concealment and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Demetriou – who would also purchase land on behalf of the Church – was also accused by State Prosecutor Rikkos Mappourides of having swindled the Archbishopric out of thousands of pounds by receiving more money than the land was worth from the Archbishop himself, buying the land at a cheaper price for the Church and then pocketing the difference.
Police claimed that Demetriou was taking advantage of the ailing primate – who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
“In his summing up, Mr. Mappourides claimed that both defendants with their behaviour had even fooled the Archbishop,” said Chief Judge Yiasemis Yiasemi. “However, there is no material evidence to suggest such a thing. On the contrary, there is a witness testimony stating the unique handling of financial affairs by the Archbishop on behalf of the Archbishopric.”
The marathon trial revolved around separate instances where the Archbishopric paid £592,000 for the purchase of four tracts of land in Nicosia and Paphos. It was later discovered, according to police investigators, that the money actually received by the sellers amounted to £305,000 – a shortfall of £287,000.
In all cases, Philipou would sign out the cheques for Demetriou who would in turn go and purchase the land at the behest of the Archbishop.
During the trial, the prosecution had called on high-ranking Archbishopric officials to testify as well as graphologists
But in the end, the three-judge panel ruled that despite some questionable finaincial practices by the two men, there was “simply not enough material evidence linking them to the charges.”
“We have come to the conclusion that there is not sufficient evidence to justify the calling of the two defendants to mount a defence against the charges they are facing. As of this stage, the defendants are declared innocent and are cleared of the charges that they are facing.”
Yesterday’s trial was observed by family members of Demetriou and Philipou who kissed and hugged the defendants after the verdict.
It is unclear as to whether Demetriou’s family will now take legal action against the police following the acquittal of his two former colleagues.
Demetriou, who worked in the same accounting office as Philipou, committed suicide shortly after his arrest.
