Five luxury Mercedes cars assigned to Cyprus police leadership spark audit complaint
Five Mercedes E 450d vehicles, costing around €87,000 each and acquired ahead of Cyprus’ 2026 EU presidency, have been assigned to senior police leadership for transportation. These high-performance vehicles, capable of accelerating from zero to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds with 375 horsepower, have raised concerns among police ranks about their operational use.
The Deputy Police Chief Panikos Stavrou and his deputies received the cars, which experts argue are more suited for escort or specialized duties rather than routine transport. Questions have emerged regarding whether these luxury vehicles were appropriately allocated, especially as newer operational vehicles have been reassigned older models.
A November 2023 audit report noted that exclusive use of official vehicles is only permitted for the chief and deputy chief, calling for tighter restrictions on junior officers’ vehicle use. Additional allegations include luxury vehicles acquired by police members at reduced prices after EU presidency use and concerns over vehicles capable of operational tasks being used primarily for transportation.
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