On Wednesday, the Council of Ministers decided to appoint Elias Anagnostopoulos, a professor emeritus at the University of Athens and a criminal law expert, to the team of independent criminal investigatorsto replace Christos Mylonopoulos, who had stepped down from the panel, as announced by Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letympiotis on Wednesday, in remarks made at the Presidential Palace.

Mr. Anagnostopoulos and the other criminal investigators are expected to arrive in Cyprus early next week, in order to conduct investigations based on the findings of the Anti-Corruption Authority regarding Makarios Drousiotis’s book “State Mafia.”

At the same time, the Spokesperson said that the Council of Ministers approved the provision of all necessary assistance to the independent criminal investigators, both in terms of administrative support and logistical infrastructure.

According to the Government Spokesperson, a suitable space with full office equipment has already been secured, and the necessary arrangements have been completed to provide the staff required to offer administrative support for the team’s work.

When asked to comment on the reservations expressed regarding Mr. Anagnostopoulos’s appointment, the Government Spokesperson stated that the relevant arguments “are in no way related to the terms of reference of either the Anti-Corruption Authority or, by extension, the team of independent criminal investigators.”

He added that the Anti-Corruption Authority has already made it clear that the “black van” case was not the subject of its investigation and, therefore, it is not included in the findings that the independent criminal investigators will receive.

Finally, he noted that the team of independent criminal investigators should be allowed to proceed as soon as possible with conducting all necessary investigations, thoroughly review the full report, and investigate all matters mentioned therein.

Source: CNA