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1st Ld-Writethru: Cypriot former deputy attorney-general receives 3.5-year jail term for corruption

Xinhua, March 2, 2017 Adjust font size:

A former deputy attorney general of Cyprus was sentenced to 3.5 years in jail on charges of corruption, conspiracy to defraud, and receiving a bribe, according to a court ruling on Wednesday.

Rikkos Erotokritou had been found guilty of launching criminal prosecutions against five Russian nationals who had been involved in court cases in Cyprus and Russia over the control of Providencia Trust Fund, said to be worth between 250 and 300 million euros (263 and 316 million U.S dollars).

The prosecutions were meant to be a favor to the Neocleous law office of Limassol, which represented the trust fund, as it would have given the Neocleous law firm the upper hand in an ongoing trial in Russia.

In return, the law office failed to appear in court for the hearing of a court case Erotokritou had brought against the now-defunct Laiki Bank.

Two lawyers who were found guilty of conspiring with Erotokritou also received prison sentences.

Andreas Neocleous was sent to prison for 2.5 years and Andreas Kyprizoglou, a former partner in Erotokritou's law office, received a suspended 18-month prison sentence. The court decision said he had only had a minor involvement in the case.

The Neocleous law office was fined 70,000 euros for its involvement in the conspiracy and corruption case.

After the Court handed down the sentence, Erotokritou asked for permission to speak but his request was denied.

Nevertheless, he stood up and said: "Thank you for your decision."

Prior to his trial, Erotokritou had been dismissed from his post as deputy attorney general by the Supreme Court by all of its 14 judges for publicly slandering his superior Costas Clerides, with whom he had been at loggerheads for some time.

He was the first high official of the state to lose his job and be sent to jail.

In addition to their sentences, all four will face disciplinary measures from the Cyprus Bar association. Such measures could include disbarment. Endit