A 47-year-old lawyer in Cyprus, who has not been named, has been referred to the Limassol Criminal Court to face 14 charges linked to the alleged theft and laundering of €185,000 from an estate she was appointed to help administer.
The case was referred for direct trial on 29 September, following instructions from the Legal Service. The accused appeared before the District Court for the referral proceedings. She remains free under restrictive bail conditions and is required to provide a €100,000 financial guarantee.
According to the charge sheet, the 14 offences relate to theft by an agent and money laundering. The Limassol Criminal Court has scheduled a hearing for November.
The allegations stem from a police complaint concerning the administration of the estate of a deceased Russian national. The complaint alleges that, around the middle of 2023, the lawyer was appointed by the Limassol District Court as a co-administrator of the estate. In that role, she was acting as a representative of the estate.
The money at the centre of the case reportedly belonged to the deceased’s heirs and was held in a bank account. The accused is alleged to have transferred a total of €185,000 online to an account belonging to her company on several different dates. According to the complaint, she did not have lawful authority to make those transfers.
The charges have not been proven in court. The matter is now due to be heard by the Assize Court, where the allegations will be examined.
Although the police complaint was made in 2023, instructions to bring the case before the courts were issued only recently. The accused was then summoned to the District Court for the referral process, before the case was sent directly to the Assize Court.
The lawyer has previously come to the attention of the authorities in connection with alleged offences of a similar nature. She had faced an earlier criminal case before the Criminal Court. That case was suspended after she repaid all the claims made by the complainants.
The new proceedings concern a separate alleged transfer of funds and will be considered on their own evidence. The next significant date is the hearing scheduled for November.
By Ioanna Mantzipa
Adapted from an article published by philenews
