Cyprus-Forum.com

[cyprusgeoff]

http://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers. ... /id=001504

FOLLOWING massive support at its recent Title Deed seminar for more direct action, the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG) is organising a peaceful demonstration against the Cyprus Government.

The demonstration will take place during President Christofias’ visit to Peyia on 4th June and will be held at the new municipal car park, starting at 20:00.

The CPAG press release follows:

Direct Action
At our recent Title Deeds Seminar there was overwhelming support for more direct action due to the failure of the Government to respond to our calls for them to address the many pitfalls of buying property in Cyprus.

This is to let you know that CPAG are taking the opportunity to peacefully demonstrate against the Cyprus Government and especially the President when he comes to Peyia next week. The President is officially opening the new Municipal Park on the Ayios Georgios Road (main road Paphos to Akamas - near to the Eko Kallikas filling station) at 20:00hrs on the 4th of June.

Immovable Property Tax Fraud
As most of you may recall we have been trying to get action on the Immovable Property Tax (IPT) mass organised crime for some while. This included attempting to get the police to uphold the law as this is basically obtaining money under false pretences (Criminal Code 298 - penalty 5 years imprisonment) by most developers. We estimate that millions of Euros have been stolen by the developers over the years in this fraud.

We have taken victims of the fraud to the police and reported the crime yet the Chief of Police has said that this is not a police matter. The Chief of Police has declined to address the clear points of our arguments in communications to him, basically that the developer knows exactly what he has paid for each site each year and can apportion the repayment by clients accordingly yet knowingly charges much more than this whilst falsely assuring the buyer that this is what he paid on their behalf. This exactly fits the description of Criminal Code 298 in our view, yet the Chief of Police offers no counter argument or indeed any argument at all, to support the assertion that this is not a police matter.

Request for Presidential Review
As a result, on February 9th this year we wrote to the President requesting him to initiate a Presidential Review into this mass fraud because of the police refusing to investigate this crime. Yet despite the Constitution requiring him to respond within 30 days we have heard nothing so far. Accordingly, we are now of the mind that even the President is covering up for these dishonest developers and this could therefore now be viewed as a State-sponsored crime which uses a legitimate tax collecting mechanism to perpetrate the crime.

More Hard Evidence!
Also with buyers now applying for refunds of the legitimate amounts paid on their behalf, the Inland Revenue can now see the scope of the fraud in that they have hard evidence i.e. the receipts for the payments to the developers and the considerably smaller amounts that the developers themselves paid to the IR which are then refunded with an IR slip to the defrauded buyers as proof of the legitimate payment. It should be noted that Cyprus reported to the Anti Corruption arm of the EU in its Evaluation that “By virtue of Section 369 of the Criminal Code, all citizens in Cyprus, including public officials, are obliged to report information on (possible) criminal offences to the police”.

As a recent example of this fraud and the knowledge which the Inland Revenue have at hand, one couple were forced to pay the developer €4,417 and only received €771 in a refund, this being the legitimate amount the developer actually paid and therefore have been defrauded out of €3,646 by the developer (and the lawyers involved).

Another gentleman is being asked for €17,000 in IPT before the developer releases the Deeds, whereas when he checks with the Inland Revenue they say he should only pay €1,900. This buyer cannot afford to pay the amount being extorted and has therefore now also lost the right to Specific Performance which expires after 6 months of being notified that the Deeds are ready for transfer.

Finally
This is the President who is currently pontificating on the international stage about property rights, respect for law and order and European values - we think he should practise in the Republic what he preaches otherwise he is just as guilty as the developers and the lawyers who cover up for them. This is pure fraud and in any civilised law-abiding country these developers would be dealt with by the Authorities.

We apologise for the short notice of this demonstration but hope you will join us on Thursday 4th of June to express your indignation direct to the President - please tell all your friends and let’s show the Government that we are simply not going to back down on this fraud. We will have placards available but you are also quite welcome to bring your own.

Please try to arrive at least 15 minutes before the appointed time as we assume that the parking will be chaotic and also please consider car pooling wherever possible.

My only comment:-

Crime is not a Police matter.....?? How very strange, I thought that was what they got paid for?

[miltiades]

The law must be upheld and if indeed the developers are breaking the law by using dubious means to obtain money from the purchaser then they must be challenged. A peaceful protest is the democratic right of any Cypriot citizen .

[Milo]

http://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers.com/2009/05/29/action-group-organises-demonstration/id=001504

FOLLOWING massive support at its recent Title Deed seminar for more direct action, the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG) is organising a peaceful demonstration against the Cyprus Government.

The demonstration will take place during President Christofias’ visit to Peyia on 4th June and will be held at the new municipal car park, starting at 20:00.

The CPAG press release follows:

Direct Action
At our recent Title Deeds Seminar there was overwhelming support for more direct action due to the failure of the Government to respond to our calls for them to address the many pitfalls of buying property in Cyprus.

This is to let you know that CPAG are taking the opportunity to peacefully demonstrate against the Cyprus Government and especially the President when he comes to Peyia next week. The President is officially opening the new Municipal Park on the Ayios Georgios Road (main road Paphos to Akamas - near to the Eko Kallikas filling station) at 20:00hrs on the 4th of June.

Immovable Property Tax Fraud
As most of you may recall we have been trying to get action on the Immovable Property Tax (IPT) mass organised crime for some while. This included attempting to get the police to uphold the law as this is basically obtaining money under false pretences (Criminal Code 298 - penalty 5 years imprisonment) by most developers. We estimate that millions of Euros have been stolen by the developers over the years in this fraud.

We have taken victims of the fraud to the police and reported the crime yet the Chief of Police has said that this is not a police matter. The Chief of Police has declined to address the clear points of our arguments in communications to him, basically that the developer knows exactly what he has paid for each site each year and can apportion the repayment by clients accordingly yet knowingly charges much more than this whilst falsely assuring the buyer that this is what he paid on their behalf. This exactly fits the description of Criminal Code 298 in our view, yet the Chief of Police offers no counter argument or indeed any argument at all, to support the assertion that this is not a police matter.

Request for Presidential Review
As a result, on February 9th this year we wrote to the President requesting him to initiate a Presidential Review into this mass fraud because of the police refusing to investigate this crime. Yet despite the Constitution requiring him to respond within 30 days we have heard nothing so far. Accordingly, we are now of the mind that even the President is covering up for these dishonest developers and this could therefore now be viewed as a State-sponsored crime which uses a legitimate tax collecting mechanism to perpetrate the crime.

More Hard Evidence!
Also with buyers now applying for refunds of the legitimate amounts paid on their behalf, the Inland Revenue can now see the scope of the fraud in that they have hard evidence i.e. the receipts for the payments to the developers and the considerably smaller amounts that the developers themselves paid to the IR which are then refunded with an IR slip to the defrauded buyers as proof of the legitimate payment. It should be noted that Cyprus reported to the Anti Corruption arm of the EU in its Evaluation that “By virtue of Section 369 of the Criminal Code, all citizens in Cyprus, including public officials, are obliged to report information on (possible) criminal offences to the police”.

As a recent example of this fraud and the knowledge which the Inland Revenue have at hand, one couple were forced to pay the developer €4,417 and only received €771 in a refund, this being the legitimate amount the developer actually paid and therefore have been defrauded out of €3,646 by the developer (and the lawyers involved).

Another gentleman is being asked for €17,000 in IPT before the developer releases the Deeds, whereas when he checks with the Inland Revenue they say he should only pay €1,900. This buyer cannot afford to pay the amount being extorted and has therefore now also lost the right to Specific Performance which expires after 6 months of being notified that the Deeds are ready for transfer.

Finally
This is the President who is currently pontificating on the international stage about property rights, respect for law and order and European values - we think he should practise in the Republic what he preaches otherwise he is just as guilty as the developers and the lawyers who cover up for them. This is pure fraud and in any civilised law-abiding country these developers would be dealt with by the Authorities.

We apologise for the short notice of this demonstration but hope you will join us on Thursday 4th of June to express your indignation direct to the President - please tell all your friends and let’s show the Government that we are simply not going to back down on this fraud. We will have placards available but you are also quite welcome to bring your own.

Please try to arrive at least 15 minutes before the appointed time as we assume that the parking will be chaotic and also please consider car pooling wherever possible.

My only comment:-

Crime is not a Police matter.....?? How very strange, I thought that was what they got paid for?

Some of us here in the East will be hoping to attend this peaceful protest, its very sad that it has come to this, lobbying the UK government and the Lords and more importantly the EU, because of the complete and utter indiferrence given to many many thousands of property buyers, on not following up on the property fraud committed by so many here in the South, mostly Developers and their partners in crime the Lawyers.

Some of us here in my village have got issues with illegal cancellation payments over £6k just to get the Developers 'permission' to sell a house you thought you owned outright Another who paid £100k towards their property being built, only to be told that we now want another £100k when they rightly refused, you would think that their lawyer would have made all the right moves for them, oh no it took them 2 years to get their money back without interest. All they did was buy a property thru a lawyer Two others have recieved eviction notices as NO planning permits for theirs both conveyed by the same lawyer whose job it IS,NT to check on this apparently.

This is just a few of the many I personally know, our problem was just the cancellation fee, I will never get it back but although we tried NOT to pay it our Lawyer told us sorry can,t sell your house unless you do so, he was very complicite in it and no doubt recieved half . That Lawyer in Paralimni sent us a bill for his services for £2k we told him take us to court for it and we will countersue for the illegal charge. Three years later we have,nt heard a thing, how strange. Mind you he is very busy in court with lots of other cases brought against him.

I think that the authorities stupidly believe that all the complaints will go away IF they do nothing Well it seems to have gained momemtum and gaining friends in higher places. Hope that before it blows up they do the right thing for ALL buyers in Cyprus, some who today are losing their homes as Developers drop like flies with big mortgages on the lands the properties sit on, until you have Deeds in your name you don,t own it, its a chaotic nightmare. Spains land grab has cost the Spanish government dearly, this will happen here too. A cypriot lady I know is very worried about her property too as her Developer is in difficulties, a 100,000 PEOPLE AFFECTED is not going to go away.

The President does,nt need to be embarassed in his own country and I,m sure will have answers, but the trouble is they are empty promises.

Empty promises to rectify the situation now fall on stony ground.

To add to the obvious answers of whingeing whineing Brits to this post put shit stubborn too When each and everyone of us have been paid back compensated seen our perpatrators prosecuted,only then will we melt away Not

[cyprusgeoff]

You have to ask yourself who is in charge of things on this Island?

Is it the Government? are they in turn in charge of the police?

Can the Chief of Police then pick and choose which laws to uphold? has he free reign to do as he pleases and ignore laws being broken and innocent people being swindled.

Are the developers in charge of the country? It seems as though that may be the case.

Or are all the crooked Lawyers that work hand in hand with the developers
in charge?

What will happen to Cyprus when the EU say enough is enough and start to withhold EU funds because this shambles concerning title deeds and IPT has not been sorted out.

Despite successive governments promising to do something about it, nothing has been done and the situation gets worse by the day.

Alas poor Cypriots, hang your heads in shame and reflect on what might have been had not inept governments, shifty lawyers and crooked developers ruined the good name of Cyprus.

It's a shocking situation when peaceful, well mannered and often elderly people have to band together and demonstrate to try and get a government to change an unlawful and corrupt system that has been ongoing for many years.

[Svetlana]

I shall be there taking photos of ex-pats throwing bottles of Sanatogen at the President and waving their copies SAGA Magazine - in the strongest possible terms - while singing: 'We shall overcome.....'

Hang on, my home is at risk.... Conor where are you when I need you...?

Hopefully, pictures here on Friday!

Lana

[Svetlana]

Scared of my camera it seems.....

Protesters vow to follow president after Peyia cancellation
By Bejay Browne

DISGRUNTLED property buyers believe that President Demetris Christofias has cancelled his appearance at the opening a new municipal park in Peyia this week because of their planned demonstration.

The peaceful action was to highlight the government’s inaction over delays in the issuing of title deeds.

“We have embarrassed him, so he is putting his head in the sand and hoping we will go away,” said one would-be demonstrator.

“We won’t go anywhere and there may be even more of us next time.”

Christofias was scheduled to open the park on Thursday night. The Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG) anticipating around 500 people to attend, most of them fighting for the issuing of their title deeds.

CPAG say they arranged the demo in response to “the failure of the government to respond to calls for them to address the many pitfalls of buying property in Cyprus”.

Hearing the news that Christofias was unable to attend, CPAG co-ordinator Denis O’Hare said there will be another opportunity to demonstrate.

“The President seems unable to answer our letters, despite the fact that people are being defrauded but this doesn’t weaken our resolve.”

“We’re not happy to be saying these things and it saddens me that the situation has reached this stage. It really gives me no pleasure saying these things, but it’s a sign of our desperation.”

O’Hare believes that all the parties involved should all be able to sit down together, help each other and find a solution to the ongoing problem.

“Ultimately the casualties will be the image and economy of Cyprus, and that isn’t good for anyone,” he said.

“We may go ahead and stage a protest anyway to say ‘where are you Mr President?’”

A press release from the Peyia municipality said that the official opening of the park by the President had been postponed, due to an important commitment of the President, but that it would, take place at a later date.



Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

[CBBB]

Our great leader afraid of a few whingin Brits, never!

[Milo]

No, its still on.. all us pensioners have sooooo much time on our hands we just like to get together at the same time in the same place and wave our hands about While at the same time lobbying the UK PM the Lords and of course Brussels Saves us all getting bored don,t it?

Statistics say there are to be more pensioners soon than any other age group , of course they did pay into the economy for decades, and the NHS to make it what it is today, oh and then the younger gens f****d it up.

When a Pres of an EU country that pulls out at the last minute when he knows that THEY (the pensioners )are right and he has done nothing at all to help the situation, not even the courteousy of a reply, says it all really. Title Deeds is just No 1, the list goes on and on. I for one wish the powers that be will hurry and sort it all out for him

Lana, Conors court action is still in progress at least it was at the beginning of the week.

I know...... PM G Brown is utter crap too.

http://www.cyprus-property-action-group.net/Demo.html

Homeowners, well you DON,T own it in Cyprus, if you don,t actually have Deeds , do actually have some clout.

http://www.cyprus-property-action-group ... tition.htm

and another finishing tomorrow

The petition will remain on-line until Thursday 4th June. If you wish to add your name to the ever growing list of petitioners before that deadline is reached, click on the following link:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/TitleDeedsCyprus/

The petition reads: “We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to exert pressure on the Government of Cyprus to protect property rights in Cyprus in compliance with Article 17 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.”

Now where,s my Sanatogen and me zimmer........

Actually I wish I was a pensioner they seem to have fun

[CBBB]

Milo wrote:

The petition reads: “We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to exert pressure on the Government of Cyprus to protect property rights in Cyprus in compliance with Article 17 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.”

Which Prime Minister would that be? Is there any point in wasting time with Gordon and his cronies, doesn't look as though they will be there long!

[Milo]

Milo wrote:

The petition reads: “We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to exert pressure on the Government of Cyprus to protect property rights in Cyprus in compliance with Article 17 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.”

Which Prime Minister would that be? Is there any point in wasting time with Gordon and his cronies, doesn't look as though they will be there long!

You do have a point there. But anyone will do.... I think.