Elderly woman in Cyprus says was cheated out of millions

LARNACA District Court yesterday issued an eight day remand for three men in relation to defrauding millions from an elderly Turkish Cypriot woman who said she had been short-changed over her expropriated land. Three Famagusta-based men, a 70-year-old lawyer, and two businessmen, 66 and 56, are under investigation in relation to the alleged theft of about €3.85 million, that police said yesterday was part of the woman’s compensation for a piece of land expropriated by the state. The 83-year-old woman, who moved to the UK in 1988, agreed in 2009 to a government expropriation of land in Polemidia near Limassol, appointing a Famagusta-based lawyer as her property’s administrator. But she told police on February 20 that she was still waiting for the full amount owed to her. The woman had given the lawyer power of attorney to push forward procedures over the 37 donum piece of land police spokesman Andreas Angelides said. One donum is roughly 1,337 square metres. Although the Central Bank had issued a cheque to her name for €6.6million, she told police that she had only received €2.75 million, Angelides said. The rest went into the account of the 66-year-old businessman. Angelides said that other amounts moved into the 56-year-old’s account as well as into the account of a Turkish Cypriot man, 65, whom authorities are now looking for. Larnaca news agency said the Turkish Cypriot man was one of the woman’s four children. The 83-year-old’s husband died in 2009, Larnaca news agency said

Cyprus Mail