Former President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, asked for the immediate appointment of an independent criminal investigator and prosecutor “with a strong personality and recognized prestige” to probe allegations of corruption and complete their work within a reasonable timeframe. as soon as possible.
Speaking during a press conference, on Tuesday, in Nicosia Anastasiades refuted for an hour and a half the allegations contained in the detailed announcement of the Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) issued on 16 June, over its findings into the investigation of the allegations in the book ‘Mafia State.’ The report said that Nicos Anastasiades and other officials, individuals and legal entities, may be potentially criminally liable of corruption, while also stressing the principle of the presumption of innocence.
Anastasiades argued that “people’s courts” were set up, in violation of the presumption of innocence. The former President, spoke of “intensification of toxicity, character assassination, and defamation”, despite that “the defamatory claims against me contained in the book were dismissed as false or unfounded or were not accepted,” by the Authority.
He also stated that he does not attribute bad faith to the Inspectors or the members of the Anti-Corruption Authority, but “I attribute to them a lack of the required strong will to resist populism.”
Furthermore, when asked to engage in self-criticism for any responsibilities he may have for Cyprus’ depiction as a corrupted state, he referred to the role of “internet users, TikTokers, or those who invent fictions” saying that their contribution in the weakening of institutions should be probed.
Analyzing the charges against him, the former President emphasized that on several occasions the Inspectors did not present the claims to him and did not hear his own positions on the cases.
The probe of the IAAC is based on the book “Mafia State” written by journalist Makarios Droushiotis, who in the past worked as advisor to former President Nicos Anastasiades. Earlier, the members of the Prosecutorial Council of the Law Office announced that they have decided to forward to the Police and to the Council of Ministers IAAC’s report, with a view to promptly initiate a criminal probe into possible offences.