With the cross-examination of the Municipal Secretary of the Municipality of Paphos, Themis Philippides, the case of the seizure of €8.36 million from the Municipality of Paphos by the Holy Metropolis of Paphos continued today before the Paphos District Court.

According to the history of the case, after the issuance of the freezing order for the €8.36 million by the Holy Metropolis of Paphos, the Municipality of Paphos raised an objection. The agreed-upon procedure was to be conducted either through sworn testimonies or by presenting witnesses in court. 

Subsequently, the two opposing sides agreed to proceed with the hearing based on sworn statements that were submitted. The lawyer of the Holy Metropolis, Leonidas Georgiou, requested the cross-examination of the Municipal Secretary, 

Mr. Themis Philippides, as a witness for the Municipality of Paphos.

During the cross-examination by the lawyer of the Holy Metropolis of Paphos, Leonidas Georgiou, Mr. Philippides stated that the consultations between the Municipality of Paphos and the Holy Metropolis of Paphos continued even after the issuance of the initial decision, in the presence of the then Metropolitan of Paphos and current Archbishop of Cyprus, Georgios. However, the Holy Metropolis' lawyer argued that these consultations were not related to the Municipality of Paphos' obligation to pay the aforementioned amount.

Mr. Philippides also refuted the accusation that the Local Authority manipulated the funds from the Municipal Employees' Pension Fund after the issuance of the order, while the Holy Metropolis' lawyer stated that the Church had no intention of touching these funds.

When asked, the Municipal Secretary confirmed that he had never personally contacted the Hellenic Bank after the relevant order, but a bank employee reached out to him to provide an email from his office. He also dismissed the lawyer of the Holy Metropolis' claims.

The lawyer of the Holy Metropolis presented the position that there was prior communication between the Municipal Secretary of Paphos and the Hellenic Bank, asking which accounts to freeze.

The Municipal Authority's lawyer, Aristi Korakidou, noted that the order contained the names of banks and not specific account names.

Regarding the Municipality of Paphos' revenues, Mr. Philippides told the Court that for the past eight years, the Municipality had consented to and implemented surplus budgets. He added that fixed expenses were constant and not related to revenues. As for the Municipality's income, he mentioned that it was variable and represented a quantifiable amount.

When questioned by the lawyer of the Holy Metropolis of Paphos, Mr. Philippides noted that out of ten projects of the Municipality, three were entirely financed by the Municipality, and the rest were co-financed by the EU. He further explained that the percentage of co-financing was approximately 80%.

As examples, Mr. Philippides mentioned that the Municipality of Paphos had constructed projects such as the redevelopment of the old police station into a Historical Documentation Center at a cost of €9.5 million, the International Roundabout costing €400,000, and the Colors Park costing €3 million, all funded from its own resources. 

The other six projects were co-financed by the EU. Additionally, Mr. Philippides highlighted that due to the Municipality's good financial condition, it had the ability to fund projects from its central Fund before receiving the co-financing.

The Municipal Secretary of the Municipality of Paphos stressed that the Municipality was a reliable organization, but its finances would be affected by the immediate payment of the €8 million. He also expressed concerns that the Municipality's development program could be jeopardized due to the seizure of this significant amount.

The next stage is the presentations of the arguments by the two opposing sides, scheduled for August 11, 2023, followed by the court's decision.

During the commencement of the proceedings, the lawyer of the Holy Metropolis of Paphos, Leonidas Georgiou, requested the submission of documents related to the Municipality of Paphos' financial statements for the period 2021-2022.

Mr. Georgiou noted that if the €2 million out of the €8 million concerned the salaries of the Municipality's employees, the Church would not interfere as it did not wish to deprive the employees of their wages.

The lawyer of the Municipality of Paphos, Aristi Korakidou, mentioned that the financial statements requested by the opposing side had not been audited by the Auditor General and were not official.

After a brief recess, the Court rejected the request of the lawyer of the Holy Metropolis of Paphos.