Land registry official confirms alleged Church fraud

A LAND registry official was called to testify yesterday in the trial concerning allegations of embezzlement that took place under the nose of the ailing former Archbishop of Cyprus.

Yesterday, land registry official Philipos Christodoulou told the court that Aristodemou was selling land to the Archbishopric at prices that were disproportionately higher than its land value.

But defence lawyer Efstathios Efstathiou quizzed land registry official Philipos Christodoulou of wrongfully telling the authorities that Aristodemou was overpricing the land he was buying.

The trial revolves 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 State Prosecutor Rikkos Mappourides, that the money actually received by the sellers amounted to £305,000 – a shortfall of £287,000.

The two men on trial, Iosif Demetriou Aristodemou, a close relative and one-time chauffeur of former Archbishop Chrysostomos, and Chrysostomos Philippou, chief accountant at the Archbishopric, are accused of stealing vast amounts of money from the Church by forging the former Archbishop’s initials and handwriting.

The former Archbishop suffers from Alzheimer’s, and has for years been unable to perform his duties.

Another accountant, Elias Demetriou, committed suicide a few days after being questioned by detectives in connection with the case in December 2003.

Aristodemou is believed by the police of also having swindled the Archbishopric of hundreds of thousands of pounds by buying land cheap then selling it to the Archbishopric at higher prices.

Police also claim that Aristodemou was initially buying the land with money from the Archbishopric and that Philippou would hide the paper trail in exchange for some of the kickbacks.

Both defendants face a total of 14 charges, including forgery, circulating falsified documents, theft, obtaining money under false pretences, concealment and conspiracy to commit a crime.
The trial continues today.

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