CYPRUS: “Millions found” in Paphos sewerage suspects’ accounts

Police investigators said on Friday they found “millions of euros” in the bank accounts of two leading suspects held on corruption charges related to the Paphos sewerage board (SAPA).

Former Paphos Mayor Savvas Vergas, who resigned his office earlier in the week and paved the way for by-elections on January 11, appeared in court for a renewal of his eight-day remand order, together with SAPA General Manager Eftychios Malekides and former councilman Georgos Michaelides of the ruling DISY party.
However, a damning all-day testimony to investigators by Greek contractor Christos Drakopoulos on Thursday drove the police to discover about €5 mln in Vergas’ bank account and about €2 mln in Malekides’ account. Police promptly issued an arrest warrant for Vergas’ wife, Sofia Apostolidou, who was introduced to Drakopoulos as an “associate” by Vergas.
The Greek contractor, who is cooperating with the authorities, was flown in on Thursday to continue his deposition with earlier press reports suggesting that he had given bags filled with cash to Vergas and Malekides to secure a bid in 2007 for the SAPA treatment plant for his company Envitec SA.
As Mayor, Vergas was the ex-officio chairman of SAPA, a project that has so far cost about €109 mln, much more than the initial estimates of €78 mln. He and Malekides are alleged to have inflated the costs for the project in order to secure kickbacks from various contractors, including Drakopoulos.
Paphos town and its environs look like a permanent work in progress, as roads have been torn up and the extension of the sewerage network proceeds extremely slowly, prompting some local authorities from nearby villages and towns to go it alone.
Citizens are up in arms for having to pay sewerage dues for a service they have yet to benefit from, almost seven years on.