Trial of ex-transport minister Marios Demetriades delayed after 25 new charges added in golden passport case
The trial of former transport minister Marios Demetriades and nine others in the high-profile golden passport case has been postponed to October 19 after prosecutors added 25 new charges to the indictment. The new charges, which concern five of the ten defendants, were formally filed on Monday, prompting the court to set September 23 for defense responses.
Senior counsel Haris Karaolidou stated the added charges relate to the same events already under investigation and are based on previously gathered evidence. Defense lawyers expressed concerns about the delay and the nature of the new charges, particularly three that allege money laundering, which they claim differ significantly from the original allegations.
The case involves allegations of influence peddling, bribery, extortion, conspiracy to defraud, and money laundering linked to citizenship registrations approved during Demetriades’ tenure as transport minister. Demetriades denies wrongdoing, calling himself a "scapegoat." The court also approved calling three additional prosecution witnesses.
No news yet
CYPRadar is a state-of-the-art, AI-powered Cyprus news aggregator that automatically crawls, filters, and translates local updates in real time. By continuously scanning a wide range of trusted Cypriot media outlets, blogs, and official RSS feeds, the platform identifies original stories and uses advanced language models to filter out duplicate coverage. The service then generates concise, objective summaries, ensuring that readers get a quick and clear understanding of every significant event without information overload.
The primary mission of CYPRadar is to provide comprehensive, multi-language coverage of Cyprus news to keep both residents and international visitors well-informed. The platform covers key events across all major cities and districts, including Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos, and Famagusta. By offering all updates simultaneously in five languages — English, Russian, Greek, Ukrainian, and Turkish — CYPRadar bridges communication gaps and ensures that everyone has equal access to critical local information, from policy changes to community events.
Follow police reports, crime statistics, and justice updates in Cyprus. Read about local law enforcement operations, safety measures, judicial court cases, road safety controls, and community policing initiatives.