«Odysseas Michaelides acted with manifest malice, with two measures and double standards, and with the aim of harming the plaintiffs and not of protecting any financial interests of the European Union or the Republic of Cyprus”
A lawsuit against Odysseas Michaelides, personally and in his capacity as Auditor General during the relevant time, was filed today at the Limassol District Court by the former Commissioner for the Development of Mountainous Communities and Community Leader of Kalopanayiotis for many years, Giannakis Papadouris, and the company V.V. Lampadistis Wineries Limited through their lawyers Christos Pourgouridis & Co. LLC.
A statement from the law firm states that they are claiming general, special and exemplary damages from Mr. Michaelides as well as various acknowledgments. In the same lawsuit, the plaintiffs are also claiming similar remedies against the Republic of Cyprus through its legal representative, namely the Attorney General.
The plaintiffs, it is reported, claim, among other things, that during the audit carried out by the Audit Service in 2021, Odysseas Michaelides, as its head, acted “with manifest malice, with double standards, and with the aim of harming the plaintiffs and not to protect any financial interests of the European Union or the Republic of Cyprus”.
This is because, as they claim, “Mr. Giannakis Papadouris had filed another lawsuit (no. 1879/20) against Mr. Odysseas Michaelides in the same Court in 2020 for other matters.”
“The Plaintiffs also claim that Mr. Michaelides acted without authority, negligently and in violation of his institutional duties as well as the fundamental audit principles and the INTOSAI Auditing Standards, which he himself systematically invokes,” it is added.
In particular, it is mentioned, on April 12, 2021, Mr. Michaelidis proceeded to publish and publicize the Special Report no. KOAP/01/2021 of the Audit Service, which had as its object of control the procedures for granting financial aid from the European Union Funds to V.V. Lampadistis Wineries Limited interests of Mr. Papadouri for the construction of a winery in the Kalopanagioti community. In the report in question, the former Auditor General, as stated, identified “serious findings” of possible fraud which he communicated to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
“OLAF, after a thorough investigation of all the ‘serious findings’ of the Audit Office, having objectively examined all the evidence and having previously requested and received the views of the Claimants on all issues, in May 2024 concluded that no fraud had been committed,” the announcement continues. However, according to the claimants, the Audit Office “hid OLAF’s conclusions from the recipients of its Report and the public in general, thus leaving the false impression that Mr. Papadouris and the company are still under investigation by OLAF for committing fraud.”
It is further stated that the plaintiffs impute to Mr. Michaelidis, among other things, that “he proceeded to publish the above Special Report without first asking for their opinions and without referring to relevant documents that were in the files he examined or to information he secured from the competent services”.
“These omissions had the effect of ignoring critical elements that could affect the conclusions of the audit”, it is added.
They also claim that the former Auditor General informing himself OLAF for the “findings” of the above Special Report of the Audit Service, “instead of reporting as it should to the competent authorities of the Republic of Cyprus who have the obligation to combat fraud and informing OLAF of any irregularities in the management of funds originating from the European Union, violated the legal procedures laid down in the relevant legislation”.
The law firm states that the plaintiffs allege that the illegal acts and omissions of Odysseus Michaelides caused them moral damage, insulted their good reputation and additionally to Mr. Papadouri caused a huge disturbance, mental anguish and controversy in the media and in the MCD.
