Cyprus-Forum.com

[annaka]

From today's Cyprus Mail:

Fraud victim in appeal to track down runaway lawyer
By Leo Leonidou

A BRITISH man who says he was ripped off by a Limassol lawyer accused of multiple cases of fraud has spoken out in an effort to trace the missing lawyer.

Last month, eight complaints were made to the police against 37-year-old Marios Shaylis, who is thought to have run off with nearly two million pounds.

Leslie Glassock told the Cyprus Mail that Shaylis ran off with £90,000, which was meant as a final payment to a developer for a home in Yermasoyia.

“Initially, everything seemed to be going OK,” the 57-year-old said. “We needed a lawyer to amend certain clauses in our sales contract and that’s where Shaylis came in. The estate agent put us in touch with a lawyer who shared Shaylis’ offices, but all financial transactions were handled by Shaylis himself.”

According to the business consultant, the lawyer had been stalling the developer, telling the firm that he was encountering problems with his bank. “This was so he could buy time to clear as many client accounts as possible so he could vanish. The police informed me that over a three-month period, he emptied and closed all of his clients’ accounts.”

Glassock spoke to the lawyer the day before he disappeared with his wife and baby girl on September 18. “He told me not to worry, telling me the money would be paid to the developer in full.”

He has since bought the property, but had to pay the developer a second time in order for him to receive the money stolen by Shaylis. “The house has cost me an extra £90,000 plus the interest on the balance not paid.”

Interpol has issued an international warrant for his arrest, with a sergeant working on the case with Limassol CID saying he was confident that Shaylis would eventually be brought to justice. “According to confidential information that we have gathered from various sources, he has fled to a non-EU country, possibly somewhere in the Balkans. We are working closely with international law enforcement agencies and I’m sure that he will be caught.”

Glassock is trying to get in touch with the other victims, “to share information and agree on a reward subject to his arrest and extradition back to Cyprus. We want to bring publicity of the case to countries where he could be hiding in and contact the local media in these countries and will shortly be setting up a website where people can give information anonymously.”

Shaylis has also been accused of destroying his law office just before he disappeared in order to get rid of any evidence along with photographs of himself.

The British man said he was not confident of retrieving his stolen money, although he did not believe the lawyer had spent it. “He’s obviously trying to start a new life so he must have invested it in property or on a new identity. I also feel his wife is innocent, simply getting caught up in her husband’s scam and duped into leaving the country by him.”

Another of his outraged victims attempted to shoot Shaylis with a hunting rifle as he was entering his Yermasoyia home two days before he fled.

The Russian man, who has since been arrested, claims Shaylis owes him two million pounds over an agreement to build property.

“We are really shocked over what has happened but I think his family can’t believe it either. It’s a real blow to the legal community here, whose reputation has been badly damaged by this affair. I believe Shaylis was deep down an honest man who was seduced by the temptation of the money,” said Glassock.



Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2006

[cosmic]

I feel really sorry for victims of this sort of crime. If you cannot trust your lawyer, who do you trust?

Happens in the UK as well so not just a Cyprus problem.

[Svetlana]

..the Brit says he (the Lawyer) is an honest man - and the Russian wants to shoot him LOL!

Lana

[twinkle]

..the Brit says he (the Lawyer) is an honest man - and the Russian wants to shoot him LOL!

Lana

Isn't it open season anywhere? That would add an interesting angle to the hunting debate in Cyprus... Open season on Lawyers....I can just see them scampering through the undergrowth with the brief case and mobile phone for protection....

[andri_cy]

Well the laywer can have a hunting accident...

[Bill]

I don't know about a hunting accident -- owing a Russian Businessman in Cyprus 2 million is more like committing suicide .