Evidence presented in usurpation trial of German real estate agent

Proceedings at the Nicosia criminal court in the usurpation case against a German real estate agent continued on Friday with the examination and cross-examination of the investigating officer, who presented evidence found in the possession of the defendant at the time of her arrest.

In the trial within a trial, the witness also testified that the defendant had eventually been provided with an interpreter and that the German embassy had been informed of the defendant’s arrest, despite the fact that the latter had not requested it.

The 49-year-old German woman stands accused of having sold Greek Cypriot property in the north.

The witness told the court that she took two testimonies from the defendant.

When asked, the witness described evidence found, including photographs from the defendant’s mobile phone showing Kayim Development Group adverts, residential units and the defendant with other individuals – including Ali Kayim, owner of Kayim company in the north.

The witness said Kayim is wanted for the same case.

There were other photographs of the defendant with residential complexes in the background, as well as documents concerning Kayim company, and German IDs and passports in various names.

Regarding the latter, the witness said they were deemed relevant because they included the names of buyers of property in the complexes advertised by the defendant.

Those names were listed on a piece of paper found in a box file the defendant had in her possession when arrested.

The evidence, according to the witness, included a folder with documents, such as a real estate purchase agreement, costing of residential units for a golf resort – which the witness said was not part of the investigation – and a receipt for €2,000 linked to a property worth about €250,000.

The witness referred to the contents of a box file found in the defendant’s possession.

The box file, she said, contained documents, contacts, invoices issued by Kayim company indicating the defendant’s commission from the sale of property and flyers for apartments and villas in Ayios Amvrosios, Kyrenia, including Olive Trees Village, Albatros Esentepe and Aelita Garden Resort.

The prosecution witness said there were also printouts from Forbes website in English regarding an investment in the north and others in German advertising residential units in the north.

She also said that emails, which were not taken into account, had been removed.

During the cross-examination, the defence raised issues of violation of personal communication, that no interpreter was provided to his client from the time of her arrest until the day after her detention and that the German embassy was not informed of her arrest.

The defence told the prosecution witness that she decided without a warrant to review all the defendant’s files, with the defendant stating that she disagreed.

The defence referred to three folders which were submitted as evidence concerning personal communications.

The witness said that by mistake two out of the three had not been removed.

Regarding the third folder, the witness said she did not know if it was personal communications and it had not been taken into account, adding that the reverse of the page had been used by the defendant to write notes.

The defence said his client had not been given an interpreter until the day after her arrest.

The witness said great efforts had been made to find an interpreter.

She also said the statements were eventually taken with the assistance of a German language interpreter.

As to whether the German embassy had been notified of the arrest, the witness said procedure stipulates that the embassy is notified in writing upon the consent of the person arrested.

The witness also said that if the accused wanted to contact her embassy, ​​she could have asked, however she did not.

The witness also said that she spoke with the embassy herself, so the embassy was indeed aware of the arrest.

The defence said no document had been sent to the embassy.

The prosecution asked the witness to check through the police headquarters message control centre to determine whether the German embassy had been informed about the arrest.

The next hearing was set for Monday at 12.30pm, when prosecution witnesses will testify.