Home Blog Page 607

Getting rid of this wretched Cypriot lawyer

Nigel Howarth
-
0

WE met at the protest in Paphos last January and I spoke with you about various problems we are having with an apartment we bought in Cyprus and our lawyer. Since then, we have been trying to get rid of (lawyer’s name removed) and find ourselves an honest one.

She is very arrogant, ignorant and rude, telling us that we do not know what we are talking about and calling us idiots. We have paid our account (attached) but she has not sent us any receipts. We have now asked her for our file but she wants €2,000 and a Power of Attorney document certified by the Cyprus Embassy in London before she will give it to us.

Do we really have to pay this woman €2,000 for our file and go to the Cyprus Embassy?

You can publish this letter but please do not reveal our names.

Answer

We’ve received dozens of complaints against this lawyer and thank you for permitting us to publish your letter. It is our policy not to divulge your name or contact details to anyone else; please refer to our Privacy Policy.

To answer your question:

NO! The good news is that you don’t have to pay this woman €2,000 just write to her!

Providing you have settled your account, you can dispense with this woman’s services immediately and get yourself another lawyer. The British High Commission in Nicosia publishes a list of English speaking lawyers you can find by clicking here (the download link is to the right of the page). I suggest that you contact them and find one prepared to represent you. But they will be unable to act for you until you have dismissed this wretched woman.

Here’s a draft letter that you can send to her. I suggest that you send it by email and then follow it up with a registered letter. That way she will not be able to claim that she never received it:

Dear

I wish to dispense with your services as my lawyer with immediate effect. I have settled my account with your firm and no further charges are payable.

Please forward my file to:

(Name and address of your new lawyer)

Thank you for your prompt attention

Yours sincerely

The next thing to do is to write a letter of complaint to the Disciplinary Board of the Cyprus Bar Association and send to their offices:

The Cyprus Bar Association
P.O. Box. 21446
1508, Nicosia
Cyprus

According to their website, http://www.cyprusbarassociation.org , for every complaint filed you pay a fee of CYP 40 to the Disciplinary Board. I suggest you contact them on Tel: +357 22873300 to check the current fee.

I doubt if the Disciplinary Board will do anything about this lawyer, she has friends in high places.

The Attorney General, Petros Clerides, is a member of the Disciplinary Board and last year he was instrumental in getting this lawyer pardoned by President Christofias after she’d been given a jail sentence by the Paphos Court. So the chances of the Disciplinary Board striking her off the Roll must be pretty remote, but at least your complaint will be registered!

Action group organises demonstration

Nigel Howarth
-
0

FOLLOWING massive support at its recent Title Deed seminar for more direct action, the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG) is organising a peaceful demonstration against the Cyprus Government.

The demonstration will take place during President Christofias’ visit to Peyia on 4th June and will be held at the new municipal car park, starting at 20:00.

The CPAG press release follows:

Direct Action

At our recent Title Deeds Seminar there was overwhelming support for more direct action due to the failure of the Government to respond to our calls for them to address the many pitfalls of buying property in Cyprus.

This is to let you know that CPAG are taking the opportunity to peacefully demonstrate against the Cyprus Government and especially the President when he comes to Peyia next week. The President is officially opening the new Municipal Park on the Ayios Georgios Road (main road Paphos to Akamas – near to the Eko Kallikas filling station) at 20:00hrs on the 4th of June.

Immovable Property Tax Fraud

As most of you may recall we have been trying to get action on the Immovable Property Tax (IPT) mass organised crime for some while. This included attempting to get the police to uphold the law as this is basically obtaining money under false pretences (Criminal Code 298 – penalty 5 years imprisonment) by most developers. We estimate that millions of Euros have been stolen by the developers over the years in this fraud.

We have taken victims of the fraud to the police and reported the crime yet the Chief of Police has said that this is not a police matter. The Chief of Police has declined to address the clear points of our arguments in communications to him, basically that the developer knows exactly what he has paid for each site each year and can apportion the repayment by clients accordingly yet knowingly charges much more than this whilst falsely assuring the buyer that this is what he paid on their behalf. This exactly fits the description of Criminal Code 298 in our view, yet the Chief of Police offers no counter argument or indeed any argument at all, to support the assertion that this is not a police matter.

Request for Presidential Review

As a result, on February 9th this year we wrote to the President requesting him to initiate a Presidential Review into this mass fraud because of the police refusing to investigate this crime. Yet despite the Constitution requiring him to respond within 30 days we have heard nothing so far. Accordingly, we are now of the mind that even the President is covering up for these dishonest developers and this could therefore now be viewed as a State-sponsored crime which uses a legitimate tax collecting mechanism to perpetrate the crime.

More Hard Evidence!

Also with buyers now applying for refunds of the legitimate amounts paid on their behalf, the Inland Revenue can now see the scope of the fraud in that they have hard evidence i.e. the receipts for the payments to the developers and the considerably smaller amounts that the developers themselves paid to the IR which are then refunded with an IR slip to the defrauded buyers as proof of the legitimate payment. It should be noted that Cyprus reported to the Anti Corruption arm of the EU in its Evaluation that “By virtue of Section 369 of the Criminal Code, all citizens in Cyprus, including public officials, are obliged to report information on (possible) criminal offences to the police”.

As a recent example of this fraud and the knowledge which the Inland Revenue have at hand, one couple were forced to pay the developer €4,417 and only received €771 in a refund, this being the legitimate amount the developer actually paid and therefore have been defrauded out of €3,646 by the developer (and the lawyers involved).

Another gentleman is being asked for €17,000 in IPT before the developer releases the Deeds, whereas when he checks with the Inland Revenue they say he should only pay €1,900. This buyer cannot afford to pay the amount being extorted and has therefore now also lost the right to Specific Performance which expires after 6 months of being notified that the Deeds are ready for transfer.

Finally

This is the President who is currently pontificating on the international stage about property rights, respect for law and order and European values – we think he should practise in the Republic what he preaches otherwise he is just as guilty as the developers and the lawyers who cover up for them. This is pure fraud and in any civilised law-abiding country these developers would be dealt with by the Authorities.

We apologise for the short notice of this demonstration but hope you will join us on Thursday 4th of June to express your indignation direct to the President – please tell all your friends and let’s show the Government that we are simply not going to back down on this fraud. We will have placards available but you are also quite welcome to bring your own.

Please try to arrive at least 15 minutes before the appointed time as we assume that the parking will be chaotic and also please consider car pooling wherever possible.

Posted on behalf and in support of the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG)

Hatton dream turns into nightmare

Nigel Howarth
-
0

DEREK Hatton’s company that sold property in Cyprus is no longer in business, although his rental and management company is continuing as usual. According to a report in the Mail Online his company has been credit-crunched.

Commenting on his business failure, Hatton said “No one is going to suffer – except me, that is. The developers are still building the developments concerned, and they are responsible for the sites, which will be completed on time.

The problem was, sales have plummeted. But I’m confident about the actual area. Things will improve by this autumn.”

Hatton propelled himself back into the headlines earlier this year during an interview with Nathan Morley for the Cyprus Mail. Referring back to his days in politics Nathan asked whether Hatton had “warmed to Mrs. Thatcher, now she is an old lady?”

Outspoken as always, Hatton replied “The worst thing that happened was Thatcher’s mother didn’t get an abortion.”

Hatton’s comments were widely reported in the UK media where his chequered past was once again brought to public attention. It seems his remarks failed to impress potential investors!

Hatton’s Cyprus property company, Morpheus Investments Limited, is reported to have collapsed owing creditors nearly £400,000. Named after the god of dreams from Greek mythology, Hatton’s dream has turned into a nightmare.

Cyprus tax receipts from property tumble

Nigel Howarth
-
0

REFLECTING Cyprus’ stagnant property market, Capital Gains Tax receipts on the island tumbled 82% in the first four months of the year to €21.3 million; Stamp Duty and Immovable Property Tax receipts also fell.

The Cyprus Finance Ministry anticipates a budget deficit in 2009 between 0.6% and 0.8% of GDP; the first time the euro zone member will have had a shortfall since 2006. Last year the island had a budget surplus of 1% of GDP.

Cyprus Inland Revenue Department collections January - April 2009
Cyprus Inland Revenue Department collections January - April 2009

Bank of Cyprus to cut mortgage rate

Nigel Howarth
-
0

NEWS that the Bank of Cyprus will cut its base mortgage rate by 1% in early June, bringing it down to 4.25%, will be welcomed by many who are struggling with their mortgage repayments.

However, overseas property investors may not benefit from the rate cut as it will only apply to mortgages taken out before 1st January 2008 and all new mortgages up to a value of €200,000 taken out by permanent residents on their first home.

Cyprus question raised in Lords

Nigel Howarth
-
0

SEEKING to end speculation surrounding the Cyprus Government’s promise to resolve the Title Deed problems encountered by thousands of British citizens who have bought property on the island, Lord Jones of Cheltenham has tabled a further written question in the UK House of Lords to get a progress report on the matter.

One of the main reasons for the delay in issuing Title Deeds is that property developers in Cyprus currently have record mortgages, reported to be in excess of €4 billion, and are using homes bought and paid for by their customers as collateral. If the developer has a prior mortgage on a property the financial institution that loaned the money has rights that take precedence over those of the buyer. This could result in the buyer losing their home if the developer ran into financial difficulties and the bank foreclosed.

With property sales collapsing this year and many new developments mothballed or frozen, both Cypriot and foreign home buyers are becoming increasingly worried about what could happen if property developers are unable to withstand the crisis.

In answer to an earlier question, Lord Jones was advised that the British High Commissioner, Peter Millett, had “received assurances that the Cypriot Government intend to introduce a Bill to address this issue“.

But doubts over the sincerity of the Cyprus Government were raised at the Title Deed seminar organised by the Cyprus Property Action Group in Paphos.  A senior official from the Department of Lands and Surveys addressed the meeting and spoke of a planned amnesty for developers, but made no mention of legislation to help those who had been duped into buying mortgaged property.

However, at the recent annual general meeting of the Land and Building Developers Association, the Cyprus Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis reaffirmed the Cyprus government’s promise that legislation was in process that would put an end to the Title Deed problems.

Yesterday, Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked the UK Government:

“What progress has been made on the discussions between the British High Commission in Cyprus and the government of Cyprus regarding the ability of United Kingdom citizens who have bought property in Cyprus to obtain title deeds, and the assurances made by the government of Cyprus to the British High Commissioner that it would introduce a bill to address that issue.“

An answer is expected by 1st June.

1...606607608...693Page 607 of 693