Mavroyiannis pushes back on calls for attorney-general to recuse self from Mafia State probe

Former Greek Cypriot chief negotiator for the Cyprus problem Andreas Mavroyiannis on Wednesday urged caution over the question of whether the attorney-general and his assistant should recuse themselves from an expected investigation into a report released by the anti-corruption authority which found former president Nicos Anastasiades may be criminally liable for abuses of power. “Political culture demands that we do not substitute institutions, and it also means that since we have the institutions which we have, we must trust them to do their job,” he told Politis radio. Calls have been made from across the political spectrum, including by Anastasiades himself, for George Savvides and Savvas Angelides, who were appointed to the legal service’s top jobs by Anastasiades and previously served as ministers under him, to play no part in any further investigation into the report’s findings. However, Mavroyiannis, a career diplomat who served as chief negotiator under Anastasiades, argued that allowing them to do so may defeat the point of their roles. “We cannot, every time we have a case, start by excluding those who are assigned to carry out a specific mission”, he said, adding that those placed in such positions should only be recused “if there is a real conflict of interest”. He went on to say that he expects a criminal investigation to be conducted, and added that if it is proven that crimes were committed, there must be “accountability”. “Of course, accountability should be assigned, legal proceedings should be held, and illegal acts should be punished … For me, it is of great importance that in this place, the basic principles of the rule of law and transparency prevail. This applies to all of us, but on the other hand, we should not prejudge the results of an ongoing process,” he said. To this end, he added that “in practice, we should respect the principles of justice, the rule of law, … and the presumption of innocence”. He also spoke about the history of the case, and the book on which the anti-corruption authority’s investigation was based, Mafia State, written by journalist and former Anastasiades aide Makarios Drousiotis. The book, he said, had “caused intense controversy” when it was first published in 2022, prompting him to “take the initiative to send a letter to the anti-corruption authority, telling it that, look, maybe in this matter, in this case, an investigation could be conducted”. He said that he never filed a formal report to the authorities about the contents of the book, but instead “said that my wish is that this matter be investigated”. Mavroyiannis’ letter was written in the autumn of 2022, during the campaign for the 2023 presidential election, for which he was a candidate, endorsed by Akel. He eventually finished in second place behind Anastasiades’ former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides. He stressed on Wednesday the case “has to do with the concept of the rule of law and the concept of a well-governed state, and the institutions of this country must function”. “I believe that, if you like, the fact that this investigation led to a finding that there may be criminal liability and offences shows that in this case, the [anti-corruption] authority did its job well,” he said. Asked if he believes that the report’s findings point to evidence of corruption, he said “that is certainly what it is about”. “Beyond that, we are still in a preliminary stage. A criminal investigation must now be carried out, and then it will be determined whether there is real criminal liability and whether legal proceedings are possible,” he said.