POLICE have raided the BuySell offices in Larnaca. The company, which is the largest advertiser of property in Cyprus, is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. In the meantime, it has been ordered to suspend operations pending the court’s decision.
On Monday, the Larnaca District Court ordered the company to close its three local branches. Police seized computers and other technical and office equipment from their premises as part of the ongoing investigation.
It has not been confirmed whether the company’s 13 other branches face a similar fate. No-one from BuySell was available for comment.
Following the reported police raid Dinos Soteriou, president of the Council of Real Estate Agents, said that dozens of real estate agencies in Cyprus operate without a licence; this is illegal and jeopardises consumers’ when deals go bad. Like many other real estate agents, both large and small, BuySell is not licensed to operate.
This is the second case to be brought against BuySell. On October 24th 2005, the Paphos District Count ruled that all charges brought by the Registration of Estate Agents in Cyprus to obtain an order against BuySell were “invalid and unsubstantiated”. BuySell subsequently sought CYP 1,000,000 in damages.
(See also Cyprus Real Estate Agents Developers & Lawyers)
Editor’s note: Channel 4’s damning report on the numerous Title Deed scams included a couple who had been introduced to their crooked developer by BuySell. Although the developer subsequently spent some time in prison, it is believed that he continues to run his ‘business’ of renovating and selling old village houses.
