Police are investigating a case concerning dozens of trapped property buyers in Limassol, more than three years after the initial complaint was filed against a liquidator’s handling of company assets.
The investigation, launched after lawyer Sofronis Sofroniou’s April 2021 complaint, centres on allegations of fraudulent practices spanning 30 years that have left numerous families at risk of losing their properties.
According to the lawyer’s submissions to police and the Official Receiver, the liquidator allegedly mishandled property sales, collected payments worth nearly €1 million from at least two companies, and engaged in suspicious property transactions, including cases where he appeared as both buyer and seller with a family member as witness.
The investigation has uncovered evidence suggesting:
- 11 property mortgages with payments allegedly collected by the liquidator
- Properties sold at unusually low prices without debt settlement
- 17 properties with collected payments but 11 unpaid loan agreements
- Properties resold to third parties with payments allegedly recollected
- Documents showing signs of possible forgery
In one particularly troubling case, a cancer patient discovered her apartment had been sold to a third party using allegedly fraudulent documents dated 1998. The sales contract contained irregularities, including references to euros before the currency’s 2008 introduction in Cyprus.
The dispute has led affected buyers into legal battles with the Cyprus Asset Management Company (KEDIPES), which now manages former Co-op bank loans, as they attempt to protect properties they claim to have fully paid for.
Police sources say the investigation is nearing completion, with a case file expected to be submitted to the Law Office within 10 days. The lawyer was informed of the appointment of an investigator on December 5.
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