As authorities continue to follow the money trail left behind by the lifer who was allegedly using his socialite partner for laundering hundreds of thousands, the 37 year old woman who owns a jewellery store and a beauty institute was remanded for a further eight days in connection with the case, along with the lifer, who was rearrested for this particular investigation and a 40 year old man.
The remand order for her parents and brother was extended yesterday as according to Philenews sources, police have secured important clues leading them to three particular directions in uncovering the the ring that involved moving around dirty money.
The new evidence involve phone conversations between the six suspects, the source of the 238 thousand euro found in the 37 year old’s possession and uncovered accounts at an accounting office doing the bookkeeping for both the jewellery store and the beauty institute.
The phone exchanges clearly indicate the nature of the relationship between the 37 year old socialite member of one of the wealthiest Nicosia families and the lifer, as well as the involvement of her mother. As the investigator said in court, the lifer had a recent falling out with the mother and demanded his money back.
Authorities have confiscated more than half a million euro in cash and their source remains unknown, as the woman is exercising her right to silence, refusing to provide adequate explanation.
According to an eyewitness account, she appears to have placed a travel bag containing 83 thousand euro in her brother’s apartment, while the 228 thousand found in her deposit box have been frozen until such time their legality is established.
Investigators will also be looking into the accounting programme installed at the family jewellery store and going back six months, when the 37 year old’s relationship with the lifer begun. The goal is to establish whether transactions are real and based on sales or the result of illegal dealings.
They are faced with a tough few months, as they have to sift through thousands of electronic data and look into their source and legality. The family of the woman has asked for their case to be investigated separately and have hired a different lawyer.
