Former Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides has accused the Audit Office of deliberately omitting from its latest report the fact that a complaint which triggered an investigation into a building permit in the Nicosia district involved the President of the Republic. Nikos Christodoulides has dismissed the claims as “fake news”.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Michaelides said that the Audit Office’s report on the case, released the same day, failed to disclose that the initial complaint referenced the President’s involvement. He warned that if the case is not forwarded to the Anti-Corruption Authority, he will personally file a complaint after Easter.

According to the Audit Office’s special report, “Our Service carried out this compliance audit in response to a complaint submitted in a letter dated 1.11.2023, regarding alleged ‘irregularities and misconduct’ concerning the construction of an event center in the Nicosia district.”

Michaelides, however, claims this is “only half the truth.” He said that on Tuesday he contacted the MP who submitted the complaint, and was sent a copy. The document, he said, clearly stated that “the property owner entered into a political transaction with the President of the Republic. The President recently inaugurated the said recreation center.”

While the Audit Office report does mention a social media post from October 1, 2023, noting the inauguration of the development, it fails to specify who officiated the event. Michaelides questioned why this detail was omitted.

Summarizing the permit history of the establishment as presented in the report, Michaelides noted that the development remained entirely illegal and unlicensed until March 2023, when Nikos Christodoulides was elected President.

Subsequently:

• On April 26, 2023, the Department of Town Planning and Housing (DTPH) granted planning permission.

• On June 2, 2023, the owners submitted a new planning application for approval of revised plans including existing unauthorized structures.

• On June 7, 2023, the DTPH recommended approval.

• On August 28, 2023, the Interior Minister approved the application.

• On August 31, 2023, the DTPH notified the Nicosia District Administration of the revised permit, paving the way for a building permit.

• On September 6, 2023, the District Administration issued the building permit.

• On the same day, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism issued an operating license for the center as a restaurant.

Michaelides pointed out that by law, an operating license requires a final approval certificate, not merely a building permit. He emphasized that, according to procedures outlined since 2018 on the Deputy Ministry’s website, the required documents must be submitted and no deviations from the approved plans must be found during inspection. However, he said, there were significant deviations in this case.

He further claimed that the report reveals numerous legal violations involving the permits granted by the DTPH, the District Administration, and the Deputy Ministry of Tourism.

“It is obvious that some invisible hand ensured that the relevant authorities, including the Interior Minister himself, acted with lightning speed, breaking the law without hesitation,” said Michaelides. “After all this was done, the President of the Republic inaugurated the illegal building,” he added, stressing that the Audit Office “hid the essence of the complaint—namely that it involved the President—and failed to disclose its next steps.”

Michaelides stated he expects the Audit Office to immediately announce that the case has been referred to the Independent Authority Against Corruption. “Otherwise, I will personally file the complaint right after Easter,” he warned.

He also revealed that he has already taken action in two other serious cases concerning developments within the Audit Office, which have been reported to the relevant European institutions.

President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides has dismissed as “fake news” the claims made by former Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides that the Audit Office is being politicized and used as a tool.

Asked about the matter during a visit to a National Guard camp, President Christodoulides stated, “In any case, what matters to me is the substance.” He stressed that he did not attend any inauguration ceremony, contrary to what was reported in the press that day. He added that the competent ministers would respond to the issue.

When asked whether he sees any political motives behind the criticism, the President replied, “I don’t want to engage with this. I have much more serious matters to deal with.”

In response to a journalist’s comment that Mr. Michaelides claims many of the alleged violations were approved during Christodoulides’ administration, the President reiterated that the responsible ministers would address those points.

“You’ll soon see how distorted the situation really is—manipulated to serve certain agendas that do not concern me,” Christodoulides concluded.