Hungarian women plead not guilty to usurping GC property and money laundering

Two women jointly facing some 60 charges for usurping Greek Cypriot property in the north were ordered on Friday to remain in custody until their next hearing slated for February 24 at the Nicosia criminal court. Aged 61 and 53, the two Hungar

By: cyprus-mail.com

Dec 13 2024
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Hungarian women plead not guil

Two women jointly facing some 60 charges for usurping Greek Cypriot property in the north were ordered on Friday to remain in custody until their next hearing slated for February 24 at the Nicosia criminal court.

Aged 61 and 53, the two Hungarian nationals stand accused of usurping property worth €58.5 million in three villages in the north: Akanthou, Ayios Amvrosios and Kalograia.

The two defendants had appealed against a Nicosia district court decision to keep them in custody after it deemed them to be flight risks. The judge had said there was a risk they might flee the country before their hearing which took place on Thursday.

Both women appealed the decision over their custody, arguing “there was discrimination against them on the grounds that they are not of Cypriot origin.”

The Supreme Court threw out the appeal and ruled the initial decision to keep them in custody took into account all the personal circumstances. “In light of the seriousness of the case [the court of first instance] considered, rightly in our opinion, that they were not sufficient to counteract the risk of flight risk, which is real.”

During Thursday’s hearing, both women pled not guilty to the charges they face.

One of the defendants has been living in Cyprus for 16 years and the other for 15. They face charges linked to conspiracy, fraudulent transactions in relation to property of others, illegal possession and use of land belonging to others, and money laundering from illegal activities.

The case concerns the construction of residential units by a company listed in the north as ‘Cyprus Constructions Califorian Trading Ltd’. It took on a project to build nine tourist complexes, with the current value of the land estimated at €58.5 million.

In her statements, one of the defendants confirmed she helped the company owner, who she named as a friend, by advertising and promoting the company properties through social media and a website she owned.

She said she had been told that the complexes were built on land previously owned by Greek Cypriots, which was exchanged in 1974 and is no longer their property. The defendant admitted that she referred clients to the company, who then purchased property.

As such, she was effectively acting as a real estate agent, the Supreme Court said.

Nonetheless, she claimed that “despite agreeing to receive commission for the above purchases, so far she has not received any money.”

She has also admitted to purchasing property in one of the complexes, for which she had already paid some amount against the sale price.

The second defendant conceded she owns a social media account on which there were posts with advertisements and promotional material linked to the property in question.

She also appeared to say she was misled, telling authorities she was told there was an agreement between Cyprus, Greece and Turkey and now the developments were legally being constructed, since the Greek Cypriot owners took land in ‘Greek Cyprus’.

The woman had said had she known this was illegal, she would not have promoted it on Facebook.