09 Jun Court of Appeal Athens turns down extradition request from Cyprus against prominent businessman
The Court of Appeal Athens rejected on May 25, 2016 a EAW issued by Cyprus against a prominent Greek businessman on allegations of bribery and related offences.
The Court ruled that jurisdiction on the alleged offences lies with the Greek courts because most of the acts in question, i.e. approving bribes paid to Cypriot public officials, appear to have taken place on Greek territory. Moreover, the Court rejected part of the EAW relating to forged or fictitious invoices for being too vague.
It is noteworthy that Cyprus issued two successive EAWs for investigation purposes on essentially the same allegations against the businessman who had never been summoned to be questioned by the authorities of the issuing State or otherwise. The first EAW was withdrawn by the General Prosecutor of Cyprus after the Court of Appeal in Athens asked for supplemental information and clarifications and was replaced by a new one.
Ilias Anagnostopoulos and Jerina Zapanti adviced and represented the businessman throughout the extradition proceedings.