AUTHORITIES in the government-controlled areas are doing everything in their power to investigate allegations of a scam involving the sale of Turkish Cypriot properties in the south, the police has said.
The force issued the disclaimer in response to explosive claims by Sener Levent, owner and editor-in-chief of Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika, that a ring was forging documents and making bogus sales of Turkish Cypriot homes to Greek Cypriots.
The criminal network is said to comprise Turkish Cypriot conmen and their accomplices in the south.
Though the case is not new, Levent added another dimension by accusing the Greek Orthodox Church of actively supporting – or at the very least tacitly encouraging – these activities. The controversial newsman also hit out at Greek Cypriot law enforcement for turning a blind eye to this information, which he says has been available since 2004.
The man at the center of the allegations is Turkish Cypriot businessman Turgut Yasar Cavlan. He is thought to be the mastermind behind a well-organised gang that forges powers-of-attorney in a bid to fool unsuspecting Greek Cypriot bargain-hunters in the south.
According to Levent, the scam artists have got some £600,000 from six persons, who never received the title deeds to the homes they thought they had purchased.
Levent, who has been running a series of articles in recent days, says the most worrying aspect was the indifference exhibited by the Republic’s authorities.
In an editorial published this week entitled “Hurray for the occupation’s justice!” Levent said that law enforcement in the north were questioning people in the case and that arrests were imminent.
He contrasted this with the lack of activity on the part of Cypriot police, wondering whether double standards applied.
“The occupation police shall apprehend the forgers whom you should have arrested but did not. And this will be one of the most educational events inside the existing status quo in Cyprus, because the occupation justice will grab by the collar the conmen whom you have failed to prosecute.
“I even alerted Papadopoulos and Christofias to this, thinking that they might take an interest… unfortunately, it has not been possible to get any results to this day,” commented Levent.
In another opinion piece, Levent said: “But once I wrote that Turgut Yasar, who was tried for land fraud, build a huge hotel in Salamis along with two partners, the [Cypriot] police became interested. Why? Because I mentioned that the hotel was built on Greek Cypriot land.”
The police, meanwhile, has released a statement rebutting Levent’s criticism. It said that a total of 17 cases had been investigated, seven of which will go to trial; the rest were dropped for lack of corroborating evidence.
According to the police, the first hearings will take place on October 20, with Cavlan as the defendant.
With Turkish Cypriot police looking for him, Cavlan is believed to be hiding out in the south.
“It is of course Mr Levent’s right to praise justice in the occupied areas, but he has no right to twist the facts or to undermine the actions of the Cypriot police or the Republic…” read the statement.
I think it should become a law that no sale can be made without the official title deed!
