Questions Regarding the Ethical and Objective Investigation of the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority’s Findings on Makarios Drousiotis’s Book “Mafia State,” which points to possible criminal offenses by former President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades and 14 other legal and natural persons, by the five-member team of criminal investigators appointed today by the Council of Ministers, as stated by the distinguished legal scholar and attorney Simos Angelides.

He identifies serious impediments and a potential conflict of interest for at least two members of the team of criminal investigators, specifically:

• Christos Mylonopoulos, Professor Emeritus of Criminal Law at the University of Athens
• Dimitris Tsolakidis, Criminal Defense Attorney, Member of the Criminal Justice Committee and the Criminal Law Subcommittee of the Cyprus Bar Association

As reported on the Alpha News program, Mr. Mylonopoulos is said to have served as defense counsel for shipowner Michael Zolotas in the Focus case.

“Since they have been called upon to investigate the Focus issues, Zolotas, and Laiki Bank—and given that Mr. Mylonopoulos acted as Mr. Zolotas’s attorney in Greece and in the extradition proceedings in Cyprus, and so on— it is clear that there is a very clear and unambiguous conflict of interest; there could not be a clearer conflict of interest. It is an indisputable fact.”

Mr. Angelidis spoke of a blatant case requiring his exclusion from the team of criminal investigators, noting that it should be investigated whether he was questioned and, if so, whether he failed to answer and did not disclose this conflict of interest.

At the same time, Mr. Tsolakidis served on the team of three inspectors from the Anti-Corruption Authority who investigated the allegations made by AKEL MP Christos Christofides regardingregarding suspicious financial contributions to DISY through “golden passports.”

“To what extent does the investigation into the contributions overlap with the one he intends to conduct? Because if there is an overlap, it means that Mr. Tsolakidis has already formed an opinion on at least some part of the investigation, and thus his own objectivity is compromised. Therefore, he too should be recused.”

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