Cyprus citizenship trial involving former minister postponed until 2026

The trial regarding the Cyprus citizenship program, involving former Minister of Transport Marios Demetriades and nine other defendants, has been postponed. The proceedings were scheduled to begin at the Nicosia Permanent Assize Court but were delayed due to the court's high workload. The new commencement date for the trial is July 8, 2026, at 09:30. In total, there are eight individuals and two legal entities facing charges, including Marios Demetriades, Andreas Demetriades, Dimitris Demetriades, Giorgos Demetriades, Eleni Simillidi, Jing Wang, Josef Friedrich Santin, Vasiliki Georgiou-Santin, Andreas Demetriades & Co LLC, and Delsk (Cyprus) Business Services Ltd. The charges brought against the defendants include influence peddling, bribery, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and violations of the Council of Europe Convention on the Criminalization of Corruption. All defendants retain the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.