A man in Limassol was allegedly to be killed by a bomb set off by remote control while he was in his car, under an 800,000-euro contract that included a 400,000-euro advance and instructions from Dubai, in a plot police are alleged to have foiled.
The details emerged on Wednesday as police asked Nicosia District Court to remand four suspects for eight days. According to the information, the person presented as allegedly ordering the killing is wanted by police and is abroad, and allegedly had financial disputes with the intended target.
Two other people are wanted in connection with the case. The court’s decision on the remand application is pending.
The complainant’s statement
The complainant gave police a written statement on 6 November describing what he had learnt about the alleged plot to kill him.
He said that on 14 September he had received a phone call from the fourth suspect, a friend from the time the two were in the Central Prison. The fourth suspect allegedly told him he had received 820 grams of explosives intended to kill him and that, when he realised who the target was, he destroyed the detonator, making the device unusable.
Despite the failed first attempt, the contract on the complainant’s life was allegedly still in force. According to the information, he spoke by phone to the first suspect, who tried to convince him that he had nothing to do with the plot or with making the explosive device. The complainant was allegedly not convinced.
Alleged recruitment of a former employee
The third suspect once worked at a nightclub the complainant owned. When the venue closed for the summer, the complainant allegedly sent him to work for the first wanted person so that he could earn a living, according to the same information.
According to information gathered by investigators, after a disagreement between the first wanted person and the complainant, the first wanted person allegedly approached the former employee and asked for his help in carrying out the killing in exchange for money. The third suspect agreed in return for a sum of money, and the two allegedly became close.
Investigators believe, based on the information, that he was considered suitable because he was on friendly terms with the complainant and knew his daily routine, his movements and the vehicles he used, so he could know where he would be at particular times.
According to the information, the 400,000-euro advance was allegedly due after the killing was carried out.
The third suspect had previously been arrested, and a detention and deportation order was issued against him. He was deported from the Republic of Cyprus on 14 September. It is not known when or how he returned to Cyprus.
Defence challenges
Viktoras Akamas, the lawyer for the first suspect, challenged the evidence linking his client to the case during cross-examination, and asked why neither the bomb nor a second detonator had been found.
Stelios Christodoulou, for the second suspect, challenged his identification through a nickname and said the investigation had been delayed.
Dimitris Tsolakkides, for the fourth suspect, said his client had helped expose the plot and disputed that he was involved in a conspiracy to murder.
