Case Against Turkish Cypriot Lawyer Suspended

According to what was heard in the Nicosia court on Thursday, Kursat, who was arrested on a warrant for selling Greek Cypriot property in the north, presented himself to the court, where it was learned that the key witness a Briton had died.

The court heard that the legal service learned of the witness’ death on February 19, and that there is no testimony against Kursat, who had been linked to a property sale con Gary Robb committed in Klepini, Kyrenia.

Kursat was extradited to Cyprus earlier this month after having been arrested in Italy on New Year’s Eve pursuant to a European arrest warrant.

Following a court appearance on February 9, he was released pending a trial on February 29.

In a hearing at the Nicosia District court, he was ordered to hand over €10,000 in cash as a guarantee and €65,000 in two bank cheques from local banks. He was also be required to present himself to the Ayios Dhometios police station on the first and third Monday of the month. He was also allowed to travel back and forth between the north and the Republic.

He was represented in court by Rikkos Mappourides, who said he would plead not guilty to all 20 charges he faces.

Kursat consented to his own extradition on February 1 after having initially objected on the grounds that he would not be safe in a prison in the Republic, given that a Turkish Cypriot detainee had been killed in 2022.

As part of the same case, there are outstanding European arrest warrants for three others. They include British national Gary Robb, a convicted fraud who built properties on Greek Cypriot land in Klepini on a development known as the “Amaranta Valley Estate” which was never finished. The others are contractor Tuncel Tahir Soykan and construction engineer Kutsal Tokatlioglu.

Kursat, Soykan, and Tokatlioglu are believed to be linked to Robb’s company Aga Developments, which defrauded a total of 57 people into buying houses in the north which were never completed.

Robb had moved to the north and started the company after the nightclub he owned in his home country was raided by drugs officers in 1997.

Source. Cyprus Mail