Govt investigating 110 contracts signed by Paphos municipality for Turkish Cypriot property

The Turkish Cypriot property management service is investigating a total of 110 contracts signed by the Paphos municipality for the use of abandoned Turkish Cypriot property in the town, according to reports on Wednesday.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, the interior ministry has also received files related to contracts signed by the Paphos municipality regarding the use of Turkish Cypriot property, and found that in the “vast majority” of cases examined so far, “no irregularities appear to have arisen”, with the exception of “unilateral differentiation from the purpose of use”.

On this point, it was reported that, for example, while the interior ministry may have approved the lease of property to be used as a green space, the space may have wound up being used as a car park.

It was stated that thus far, it has not found that the Paphos municipality at any point signed contracts for the use of Turkish Cypriot property with the intent of making profit from it.

At present, it has been reported that “four or five” cases remain under investigation, after complaints were made to the interior ministry.

Those cases reportedly concern incidences in which displaced persons had applied to rent property, but that use was eventually assigned to the municipality instead.

The reports come after it had earlier been reported that attorney-genera George Savvides was examining a file which contained information regarding the illegal handling of abandoned Turkish Cypriot property on the part of Phedonas Phedonos, who was suspended from his duties as Paphos mayor earlier this month.

It had been alleged that Phedonos illegally sublet Turkish Cypriot property in Moutallos, the old Turkish Cypriot neighbourhood near the centre of Paphos, for commercial use.

Phedonos was suspended from his duties after Paphos-based land developer Theodoros Aristodemou, of Aristo Developers, accused him of rape, saying that the incident had occurred around ten years ago, and later giving a statement to the police.

He was later accused of domestic abuse, with social media personality Ioanna Photiou, better known by her alias Annie Alexui, claiming to hold documents from the related to admissions of Phedonos’ wife Louiza Andreou to the Nicosia general hospital in 2017, which stated that she had been “beaten” by Phedonos.

At the same time, newspaper Phileleftheros stated that it had seen three “electronic entries” regarding hospital visits made by Andreou.

Andreou has vehemently denied all accusations made against her husband, writing in a post on social media that “my family is being subjected to a coordinated attack”.

“Everyone who really knows me, in my workplace, in our extended family, our friends, know that I am not a victim and that I have no fear. I have lived harmoniously with my husband for 20 years. I assure you that he is a wonderful man, decent and honest, and I am truly proud of him and the battles he is fighting,” she wrote.

Reports regarding investigations into Turkish Cypriot property leased by the Paphos municipality come after Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou had said that more than 4,000 rental contracts for Turkish Cypriot properties have now been inspected for misuse, with earlier reports having suggested that more than 300 such contracts had been terminated.

Those reports also made reference to a total of 275 contracts signed by municipalities which were inspected, with violations of terms found in 31 cases.

Following the audit, municipalities began to comply with their terms in 13 of those cases, while 13 warning letters were sent, and five contracts were terminated.