The Independent Authority Against Corruption published today the outcome of a 228-page investigation into a complaint against Konstantinos Parmaklis, the former director of the Nicosia Water Board (and current General Manager at Nicosia District Local Government Organization), identifying four instances that may constitute abuse of power and referring the file to the Attorney General. The Authority said confidentiality was exceptionally lifted with the approval of the Transparency Commissioner, citing public interest and the senior public role of the official concerned.

The complaint was forwarded to the Authority by the Audit Office after being filed by Pavlos Nikolaou, then head of financial services at the Nicosia Water Board. After a preliminary review, the Authority launched a full investigation and appointed two inspection officers. Over the course of the probe, investigators held 25 hearings, took testimony from 14 people (including the complainant and the respondent), reviewed more than 400 documents and logged 186 exhibits.

Out of roughly 70 allegations examined, investigators rejected many of the complainant’s claims, but flagged four matters that point to possible abuse of power by the former director, eight cases of procedural weaknesses without offences, and four instances that may amount to disciplinary breaches (three potentially by the respondent and one by Water Board officials). The Authority adopted the report in full.

• Shading systems procurement: investigators said the official should have been excluded due to an affinity relationship with the director of the winning company; they also found he bypassed the procurement unit, visited the company with a Board official, and communicated pricing before the tender concluded. These acts may constitute abuse of power under Article 105 of the Penal Code (Cap. 154) and breach procurement rules.

• Reopening a 2015 tender: in 2023, the official ordered an internal audit into a years-old tender by an auditor who had a hostile relationship with the complainant. Investigators viewed the timing and choice of auditor—alongside a circular restricting the complainant’s access to records—as retaliatory, amounting to a potential abuse of power and possible act of corruption under Law 19/2022.

• Website redesign and maintenance: the Authority found indications of contract splitting and a direct award (€5,000 for the site plus €2,400 for maintenance) after an initial €10,800 quote, allegedly to avoid open competition and steer the work to a specific company linked to the same controlling person.

• Data-logging services for water-tank construction: the official sought prices himself and sent one bidder’s offer to another to secure a lower price—despite amounts exceeding direct-award thresholds—undermining the rights of competing bidders and potentially constituting abuse of power.

For completeness, the report notes that several claims—ranging from personal disputes and alleged harassment to broad assertions of regulatory violations and waste—were not substantiated on the evidence assessed.

The Authority has referred the possible abuse-of-power matters to the Attorney General for any action deemed appropriate, and the potential disciplinary issues to the District Organization of Local Government for examination.

The Local District Government of Nicosia issued a statement following the Anti-Corruption Authority’s report concerning its General Manager, Konstantinos Parmaklis, seeking to “avoid the creation of false impressions.”

The Organization clarified that the Authority examined around 70 complaints, all submitted by a former employee of the now-defunct Nicosia Water Board "while he himself was under disciplinary investigation for alleged harassment and sexual harassment."

It noted that the Authority identified only four issues requiring further evaluation — "related to the purchase of two televisions, installation of blinds, and organization of a 70th-anniversary event — all of which were approved by the Water Board’s governing council."

“The Authority found only a limited number of matters, not indicative of any systematic or widespread practice but rather isolated actions linked to collective decisions,” the statement said, adding that the Organization “respects the Authority’s findings and approaches the issue with cooperation and responsibility,” while stressing that “the overwhelming majority of complaints were deemed unfounded.”