POLICE said yesterday they are looking into the circumstances under which Antonis Fanieros, arrested last week on racketeering charges, was transferred to Nicosia General Hospital hours after being led to a detention cell.

The Larnaca-based businessman was arrested at his home on Thursday evening during a police raid. He was remanded in custody on Friday in connection with a string of offences, including: extortion, abduction, assault, conspiracy to commit a crime, theft, participation in a criminal organisation, and concealment of ill-gotten gains.

Police said the offences had been committed between 2010 and this year. Four other persons are under arrest, and two more are wanted.

In court on Friday, police investigators said they had testimony that Fanieros employs specific individuals to collect money from people who lost money at his casinos and would not pay.

After his appearance in court last Friday, Fanieros was taken to the Ayios Dometios police station for detainment. On the afternoon of the same day, the head of the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) ward of the Larnaca General Hospital visited the station in Nicosia and informed officers there that he had arranged a doctor’s appointment for Fanieros at Nicosia General due to the suspect’s condition.

Fanieros, 67, survived an attempt against his life back in 1997, sustaining serious injury that has left him with permanent damage to the larynx.

At the police station, the ENT doctor reportedly told officers he was Fanieros’ personal physician. Fanieros was then escorted to Nicosia General where he was examined by doctors, and it was decided that he should be admitted for treatment. He remains there under police guard.

Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said yesterday that the force is investigating the ENT government doctor’s role in having Fanieros transferred to Nicosia General.

A preliminary report into the hows and whys has been handed to the police chief, who has asked for further clarifications, said Katsounotos.

The investigation is not directed at the police officers at the station who authorised his transfer to the hospital, he added.

According to Katsounotos, the ENT doctor showed up at the Ayios Dometios police station “on his own”. Prior to that, no request had been made to the police to have the suspect transferred to hospital.

“From the time of his arrest up until his transfer to hospital, neither Antonis Fanieros nor his lawyers had requested a medical examination for the suspect,” Katsounotos said.

“What occurred [during the remand hearing] was only a vague reference to the suspect’s need for treatment due to his injuries,” he added.

Whenever a detainee asks to be examined by a doctor, the police is responsible for either escorting the individual to a state hospital or for arranging for an examination at the place of detention. This was normal practice, Katsounotos said. 

In a statement released last night, Fanieros’ lawyers said they had specifically requested medical care for their client during the remand hearing in court.

They said further that, at the hearing, the judge gave police clear instructions that Fanieros should be referred to a doctor – hinting that police had ignored these instructions.

“The government doctor, to whom Mr Katsounotos refers, had in the past been present during a surgical procedure operated on the suspect, and he was summoned by the lawyers, following a request by the suspect, since the police were showing indifference,” the statement noted. The ENT doctor was unable make it in time for the remand hearing.

Meanwhile the Health Ministry is conducting a separate investigation into the actions of the ENT doctor.

Health Minister Stavros Malas told reporters that they already have in writing the doctor’s account of events.

He said the ministry is crosschecking the doctor’s claims, “in order to get a complete idea of the circumstances under which the doctor in question came to be at the Ayios Dometios police station.”

Fanieros was again targeted by police in November 2010 as part of an anti-gambling raid.  He had denied at the time being involved with online gambling and with an extrajudicial ring that collects private debts.

In 2001, he was jailed for five years in connection with a share scam.

Source: Cyprus Mail