By Charlie Charalambous
PRESIDENT Clerides’ decision to order the Auditor-general to investigate corruption allegations against Interior Minister Dinos Michaelides has been challenged by the House Watchdog Committee.
During a committee meeting yesterday, deputies argued that Auditor-general Spyros Christou had no jurisdiction to investigate private individuals implicated in the alleged scandal.
As a result, the House Watchdog Committee agreed to send a letter to Clerides in which it expressed its disagreement with the way the president had handled the issue, and urged for an independent investigator to be appointed.
“We are giving the president a 10 to 15 day grace period to look at our demand and realise that the Auditor-general is not the appropriate official to examine this issue,” said Disy deputy Socrates Hasikos.
“In effect, the committee unanimously disagrees with the Pourgourides allegations being handed over to the Auditor-general.”
Diko deputy Tassos Papadopoulos had suggested it was unconstitutional to appoint Christou to carry out such a wide ranging probe into bribery and corruption.
In such cases, Papadopoulos said, it should either be up to the Council of Ministers to appoint an independent investigation team or left to the Attorney-general to appoint a criminal investigator.
Although the committee said it had nothing against Christou carrying out an investigation, it said the main thrust of any probe should be carried out by an independent or a criminal investigator who would have greater powers than the Auditor-general.
“We are not saying that Clerides is trying to cover up the issue, but that he made the wrong choice during a limited space of time before leaving for New York,” Hasikos said.
But later yesterday, Markides made clear that he did not have the authority to appoint an investigator to probe allegations against a cabinet minister, adding there was nothing irregular about Clerides ordering Christou to carry out an investigation.
He said an independent investigator could be appointed by the Council of Ministers at a later stage, but as the cabinet was not scheduled to meet for some time, Christou could start doing the groundwork.
“The Auditor-general is in a position, with services at his disposal, to collect a large amount of evidence in a short space of time,” Markides said yesterday.
“I’m in close contact with the Auditor-general and if he faces difficulties due to a lack of investigatory powers then I will intervene.”
Michaelides has been accused by watchdog committee chairman Christos Pourgourides of 14 counts of bribery and corruption and colluding with big business to cheat the public purse.
Pourgourides claims Michaelides has amassed over £2 million by unlawful means since he became interior minister.
The committee chairman has made public further allegations of secret bank accounts, close ties with a Lebanese arms dealer and ownership of immovable property in Limassol, Nicosia and elsewhere.
Michaelides denies all the allegations and dismisses the charges as an orchestrated smear campaign to hound him out of office.
On Monday, deputy Attorney-general Loucis Loucaides said Michaelides should offer his temporary resignation in view of the charges against him.
He said it was his opinion that among the 14 counts of bribery and corruption there were grounds for a criminal investigation.
Echoing the views of the watchdog committee, Loucaides was doubtful that an investigation by the Auditor-general would be sufficient, unless it ran parallel to a criminal investigation.
Meanwhile, Michaelides gets a respite from the mounting political pressure when he leaves for Brussels on official business today.
