Former President attempted to dispute corruption charges without evidence
Former President Nicos Anastasiades attempted to refute seven cases being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Authority without presenting evidentiary material.
Former President attempted to dispute corruption charges without evidence
Former President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades made an effort yesterday to refute seven separate cases being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Authority. The authority believes that in these incidents punishable acts may have been committed involving him. Mr Anastasiades' statement came whilst journalists did not have access to the evidentiary material of 3,000 pages contained in the report.
When journalists pointed out to him that he had not presented any evidence that would disprove suspicions of abuse of power, the former President, visibly displeased, requested references to specific incidents.
Mr Anastasiades was well aware that journalists could only comment on what was included in the 67 pages of the Authority's official announcement. The remaining evidentiary material remains unknown to the media, as they do not have access to the testimonies used by inspectors for their conclusions. Exploiting this lack of information, the former President avoided answering the substance of the questions and at the same time criticised journalists for not referring to specific incidents.
The fundamental issue, however, remains. The Authority's inspectors documented incidents where abuse of power or bribery may have occurred. Because the documentation behind these findings is not publicly known, the former President exploited this gap to present his own version of events undisturbed.
Source: Philenews
Source: Philenews