As police investigators are in Rome to collect and transport today to Cyprus the Turkish Cypriot lawyer accused of embezzling Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied territories, a major effort is underway to locate the witnesses of the case expected to be brought before the courts.
Investigators from the Cybercrime Unit of the Police Headquarters examining this serious case have prepared a list of witnesses and complainants similar to those found in the trial of British fraudster Gary Robb, so that they are ready to testify at any moment they are called upon.
Phileleftheros reports that among the complainants are British citizens who were deceived by the Briton and the company “AGA Developments Ltd” in the occupied territories.
The Cypriot Police will contact them through the British Authorities to inform them that they are prosecution witnesses and to be ready to come and testify.
Communication will also take place with the Greek Cypriot owners of the properties on which development was carried out in the occupied territories, specifically in Klepini, in the Kyrenia Province.
It is reminded that the case came to light when two British citizens, the couple William George and Eleanor Barker Renée Alcock, who had bought a mansion in the occupied Klepini in 2005 from AGA Developments Ltd, based in Kazaphani.
Meanwhile, Robb was extradited by the British authorities to Cyprus on 3/8/2011 and after confessing, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison. He faced 11 charges, including the exploitation and sale of properties belonging to the Republic of Cyprus and Turkish Cypriots, without the consent of the registered owners or their heirs.
According to the data of the Kyrenia District Land Registry Office, the affected area, where development was eventually not completed, was 273,800 square meters.
Out of this area, 261,589 sq.m. belong to Turkish Cypriots, 7,550 sq.m. to Greek Cypriots, and the remaining 4,661 sq.m. are state land.
The 44-year-old Turkish Cypriot lawyer Akan Kursat was arrested in Rome on New Year’s Eve and initially objected to his extradition to Cyprus, but eventually consented.
The investigators who went to Rome have until Sunday to transfer him to Cyprus, but it is estimated that this will happen today, Thursday.
He is expected to be interrogated in the presence of his lawyer (likely to be Cypriot) and on Friday he will likely be taken to the Nicosia District Court to request his detention.
Once the authorities are ready, they will proceed with the registration of the case before the judiciary.
