MEP Matsakis in new storm
Marios Matsakis, a newly elected Cypriot member of the European Parliament, was at the center of a second controversy yesterday. In addition to the bribery allegations he faces, police are also investigating charges that the politician and pathologist bought a large number of valuable, hand-carved chests belonging to Greek-Cypriot refugees but which were looted by Turkish Cypriots. Justice Minister Doros Theodorou confirmed the report in yesterday’s Politis, saying that police were preparing a file. He did not provide details, saying the issue was under investigation and was connected with the decision to request that the European Parliament waive Matsakis’s political immunity. Matsakis rejects the charge that he sought a down-payment of 10,000 Cypriot pounds (17,000 euros) from a police officer to clear him of an attempted murder charge. His center-right DIKO party has called on him to resign or renounce his immunity. Matsakis last month sued Politis for revealing he was being probed for the alleged bribe.
