A businessman who complained about a protection racket made three visits to police in four hours on Wednesday, appearing increasingly frightened and refusing to submit a statement naming his alleged extortionist after meeting two men now held on witness tampering charges.
Police arrested the two businessmen, aged 47 and 43, on Thursday as part of a large operation to tackle organised crime in Larnaca following a rise in criminality and a public daytime shootout in the city centre on 17 January. Officers seized €103,915 in cash and 42 cheques from the 47-year-old’s company offices.
Larnaca District Court remanded both for four days on Friday on charges of interference in judicial proceedings and conspiracy to commit a misdemeanour in connection with the 17 January shooting and brawl.
The complainant met the two businessmen at a Larnaca hotel on Wednesday morning, according to the police remand application. The head of Larnaca Criminal Investigation Department, who had learnt of the meeting, called him in for a statement before noon the same day.
The complainant allegedly told police the two businessmen assured him they had no connection to the shooting incident. He said orally that the 47-year-old proposed he become his partner, and that he knew the 43-year-old because he had worked briefly as a security guard at his home following a criminal act targeting the businessman last August—an attempted murder of another security guard and arson attacks on company vehicles.
At 3:30pm, the complainant rushed back to Larnaca Criminal Investigation Department wanting to submit a typed supplementary statement but ultimately did not, police said. The statement allegedly identified a foreigner abroad who had demanded €7,000 upfront and €1,000 monthly for protection of his premises. He then said orally he did not know the foreigner mentioned in the statement.
Forty minutes later, the complainant returned again to submit the supplementary statement but again refused. He appeared frightened and repeated he did not know the foreigner named as the person demanding protection money, according to the remand application.
Following these events, investigators moved to arrest the 47-year-old at his company offices on Thursday afternoon. The businessman told police the €103,915 in cash was proceeds from his businesses.
Officers also arrested three men aged 44, 50 and 38 during the operation for allegedly working as guards at the premises without the required security guard licence and for possessing wireless devices. A test vehicle driven by one of the guards was seized. The three were released and will be summoned before court later.
Police arrested the second businessman at his home shortly afterwards. Investigators are examining the suspects’ mobile phones and CCTV footage of the disputed meetings with the complainant. The three men also appear to have met at a restaurant in Larnaca.
The 47-year-old faces an additional charge of illegal possession of property over the cash seizure. Police will conduct checks through financial institutions to determine whether he holds accounts and whether large sums are being moved, and will examine Social Insurance and Income Tax records for further information on his financial status.
Defence lawyer Antonis Demetriou told Omega’s midday programme his clients are not connected to gangs and the investigator made no such reference in court. “Possibly all this is an attempt by police because of the pressure they feel from citizens,” he added.
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