Conor O’Dwyer was detained as he tried to leave the Paralimni court last Friday and was later arrested, handcuffed and taken to the police station where he was charged with public insult and later released.
CONOR O’Dwyer, the Brit at the centre of a five year legal battle with Cypriot developer Christoforos Karayiannas & Son Ltd was detained and later arrested by the police as he left the Paralimni court last Friday.
Mr O’Dwyer was in court to hear Attorney-General Petros Clerides decision that he had dropped the criminal case against him for documenting details of his ongoing property dispute with Karayiannis on the Internet.
But two police officers prevented O’Dwyer from leaving the courtroom after the hearing and he was taken to a holding area in the court. He was subsequently arrested and driven to the police station in handcuffs where he was charged with public insult and later released.
Earlier in the week O’Dwyer and his wife Michaela had been filming in Cyprus with a crew from the national ITV network for their prime-time series “Homes From Hell” due to be transmitted later this year.
Conor & Michaela O’Dwyer with an ITV film crew outside the Paralimni office of Cyprus property developer Christoforos Karayiannas & Son Ltd
The charges arose from an incident on Thursday outside Karayiannas’ office in Paralimni where ITV had been filming the couple holding a banner (see photograph) containing the words “Karayiannas are Criminals”.
In October, the Paralimni Court found Christoforos Karayiannas, his son Marios and Charalambos Ttigis guilty on criminal charges relating to their assault on Mr O’Dwyer in 2008.
Αναφέρομαι στο πιο πάνω θέμα και περαιτέρω τηλεφωνικής μας επικοινωνίας σε ενημερώνω και γραπτώς τα πιο κάτω:
Μετά λύπης μου αναγκάζομε να καταγγείλω ένα περιστατικό που δεν τιμά την χώρα μας, σε σχέση με τον πελάτη μου κον Conrelius O’Dwyer και την συμπεριφορά των αστυνομικών με αρ.963, 2961, 5270 και 273 καθώς επίσης και άλλων αστυνομικών που συμμετείχαν στο πιο πάνω περιστατικό, τα στοιχεία των οποίων δεν έχω τώρα στην κατοχή μου.
Ο πελάτης μου μετά την απόφαση σας να αναστείλετε την ποινική δίωξη εναντίον του στην υπόθεση του Δικαστηρίου Παραλιμνίου με αριθμό 793/2010, έμεινε απόλυτος ικανοποιημένος με την Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία και αποφάσισε να επικεντρώσει τις διαμαρτυρίες του εναντίον της Εταιρείας από την οποία αγόρασε το σπίτι του και αυτών που καταδικάστηκαν για τον ξυλοδαρμό του, δηλαδή τους κ.κ. Μάριο και Χριστόφορο Καραγιαννά.
Χτες διεξάχθηκε ειρηνική διαμαρτυρία έξω από το γραφείο της Εταιρείας Καραγιαννάς, μετά που ενημερώθηκε σχετικά το Αρχηγείο Αστυνομίας και ο Αστυνομικός Διευθυντής της περιοχής και το θέμα καλύφθηκε από τον γνωστό σταθμό ITV. (Επισυνάπτω σχετική επιστολή που έχει σταλεί στο Αρχηγείο). Κατά την διάρκεια της διαμαρτυρίας μια ομάδα αστυνομικών προσήλθε στον χώρο και προσπάθησε να μετακινήσει τον πελάτη μου, χωρίς επιτυχία.
Η συμπεριφορά των αστυνομικών σύμφωνα με τους παρευρισκομένους, δεν ήταν πρέπουσα και όλα είχαν βιντεογραφηθεί από τον εν λόγω σταθμό.
Σημειώστε ότι ο πελάτης μου απλά στεκόταν με την σύζυγο του με ένα πανό που έγγραφε πάνω “Karayiannas are criminals”, τίποτα άλλο δεν έκανε.
Οι αστυνομικοί του είπαν ότι διαπράττει αδίκημα χωρίς να τον ενημερώσουν για ποιο αδίκημα μιλούν. Αυτός τους ανέφερε ότι οι Καραγιαννάδες είναι πράγματι εγκληματίες επειδή καταδικάστηκαν από το Δικαστήριο για τον ξυλοδαρμό του, αλλά οι αστυνομικοί επέμεναν ότι οι Καραγιαννάδες δεν είχαν καταδικαστεί.
Σήμερα όταν πήγε στο Δικαστήριο Παραλιμνίου με την σύζυγο του, για να ανασταλεί η υπόθεση με αρ.793/2010 μαζεύτηκαν αρκετοί αστυνομικοί, οι οποίοι τον απόκλεισαν από το να φύγει από τον χώρο του Δικαστηρίου, δεν τον παρουσίασαν ένταλμα σύλληψης και όταν προσπάθησε να βγει από το κτήριο, ενώ μου μιλούσε στο τηλέφωνο, άρχισαν να του φωνάζουν, να τον σπρώχνουν και τον έβαλαν στο κελί, χωρίς να τον πληροφορήσουν για λόγους που του στέρησαν την ελευθερία του.
Όταν μίλησα με τον αστυνομικό 963 πριν τον οδηγήσαν στο κελί, μου είπε ότι δεν είχαν εκείνη την ώρα ένταλμα σύλληψης, αλλά τον κρατούν μέχρι να εκδώσουν το ένταλμα.
Είναι λυπηρό ένας ξένος που ήρθε στην χώρα μας για να επενδύσει και του οποίου κατακράτησαν τα λεφτά χωρίς να του δώσουν το σπίτι που αγόρασε, τον κτύπησαν δύο φορές να δέχεται τέτοιου είδους αντιμετώπιση από τους αστυνομικούς της περιοχής στο Παραλίμνι.
Σημείωστε ότι όταν έκανε ανάλογη διαμαρτυρία 2 φορές έξω από το Προεδρικό Μέγαρο, η συμπεριφορά των αστυνομικών ήταν άψογη, κάτι που αναγνώρισε ο πελάτης μου και είχε και σχετική δήλωση στα μέσα μαζικής επικοινωνίας.
Με συναδελφικούς χαιρετισμούς,
Γιάννος Γ. Γεωργιάδης
Δικηγόρος & Νομικός Σύμβουλος
ATTORNEY General, Petros Clerides, has decided to stay criminal proceedings against Conor O’Dwyer. In a three line letter to Yiannos G. Georgiades, Conor O’Dwyer’s lawyer, Clerides said simply:
“I refer to the above case (793/2010) and inform you that I have decided to suspend the prosecution against your client Cornelius Desmond O’Dwyer.”
The case against Conor O’Dwyer was filed by the Paralimni Police Chief last October and was in connection with him uploading material to the Internet relating to his dispute with property developer Christoforos Karayiannas & Son Ltd. The case raised significant issues concerning freedom of speech online in Cyprus.
Conor and his wife Michaela are currently in Cyprus filming with a crew from the national ITV network for their prime-time series “Homes From Hell” due to be transmitted later this year.
FOR at least five years, the main complaint by Cyprus property buyers, particularly foreigners, has been non-issuance of Title Deeds. Typically, the developer has taken a prior mortgage on the land, which was either unannounced or deliberately hidden but, in any event, not revealed because of non-existent or negligent searches.
Non-discharged mortgages add to developer foot dragging and bureaucratic delays. Some 130,000 properties are still awaiting their Title Deeds, typically 7-15 years or more.
However, some cases have also involved alleged ‘double selling’ fraud whereby the developer sells a property to Party A, fails to lodge the contract with the Land Registry and then sells it again to Party B (possibly for a higher price) but fails to reimburse Party A. There are also alleged variants of this scam.
The most high profile case involves Mr Conor O’Dwyer who bought a property in Frenaros from Karayiannas developers. O’Dwyer brought a number of legal actions against the developers. One action, a private criminal prosecution for fraud under section 303A of the penal code, received judgement on 20th January 2011.
O’Dwyer had reported his allegations to the Police and the Attorney General who declined to act. He then felt obliged to prosecute both the developers and Michelle McDonald, the second buyer who now occupies the property.
This whole saga has received massive coverage in the English media but scant attention in the Greek language media. However, it would be unwise for anyone to ignore the huge negative implications for property buyers and for Cyprus.
Real protection or a mirage?
For many years, the standard claim by the Cyprus government, developers, lawyers and estate agents has been that a buyer of immovable property is absolutely protected once his sales contract is lodged with the Cyprus Land Registry.
This claim, supported by a precedent Supreme Court ruling, has been their main counter to the avalanche of allegations, criticism, anger and demands for justice from property buyers, largely from foreigners and their MEPs.
Indeed, on 22nd July 2009 the Minister of the Interior Mr Neoclis Sylikiotis issued a lengthy official statement about the Title Deeds scandal, noting that “those allegations are entirely unsustainable”.
He further clarified that “the current system and the existing legislation protects buyers and their ownership status”. He went on: “…..the ownership status of a buyer-owner of immovable property in Cyprus is definitely secured and cannot be challenged, as long as the buyer-owner has submitted the buying-contract to the Department of Lands and Surveys”.
Finally, he emphasized that “….there is something that one must not forget. Nobody and no Authority anywhere can ever challenge the property rights or ownership status of buyers of immovable property within the territory which is under the control of the Republic of Cyprus”.
A few days earlier, in a letter to Graham Watson MEP, Mr Sylikiotis had stated: “……buyers of immovable property are protected, once they deposit the Contract of Sale at the appropriate District Office of the Department of Lands and Surveys according to the Sale of Lands (Specific Performance) Law, Cap 232”.
What possibly could be doubted from such emphatic statements from the Minister himself, backed up a Supreme Court ruling? Well, the judge in the private criminal prosecution brought by O’Dwyer clearly thought otherwise.
The judgement
The defendants were found not guilty of ‘double selling’ fraud. Apparently, the judge decided that the prosecution had failed to prove, as required under criminal law, that the defendants had committed fraud ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’.
In my opinion as a non-lawyer, the prosecution would have had to prove a deliberate intention to permanently deprive the rightful owner of his property.
The judge acknowledged that O’Dwyer was the rightful owner and that he had lodged his sales contract at the Land Registry. She further acknowledged that he had made stage payments as per contract and that the developers had not returned his money, despite having re-sold the property to another person. The fact that the developers apparently have never offered or made any reimbursement of his money appears to demonstrate a deliberate intention to permanently deprive him of the property.
Under civil law, res ipsa loquitur (the thing speaks for itself) and ‘on the balance of probabilities’ would apply.
However, this was a criminal case and the judge felt that intent was not proven beyond all reasonable doubt. What other logical reason can be put forward for what they did? It cannot have been just an error or forgetfulness, as the matter was brought swiftly to their attention. By eliminating other potential defences such as insanity and intoxication, that just leaves ‘lack of intent’ and the purposefulness with which they went about it strongly suggests intent. After all these years and no hint of a repayment, the intent also looks pretty permanent! However, just as disturbing, and contrary to the precedent Supreme Court ruling, the judge also stated that lodging of a sales contract at the Land Registry does not automatically confer protection against ‘double selling’: “the fact they (plaintiffs) submitted a sales contract to the Land Registry did not mean they automatically and in perpetuity have become the ‘owners’ (as they mean it) of the residence.”
This judgment thus cancels the standard claim by government, developers, lawyers and agents that buyers are absolutely protected.
An appeal is being lodged with the Supreme Court and so the judge’s reasoning would be examined and evaluated formally when the appeal is heard.
The implications
Nevertheless, regardless of the final verdict on appeal, immense and irreversible damage has already been inflicted internationally by this and other cases on the Cyprus property market and the general reputation of Cyprus.
O’Dwyer alone is engaged in several other cases against his developers. They have already been found guilty of assaulting O’Dwyer in two separate cases and a civil claim for damages against them is still pending.
The Cyprus Property Scandal is not just about Title Deeds but the totality of factors that influence potential new buyers. Many existing foreign buyers report that they now feel terrified and their ‘Cyprus dream’ has been shattered. Potential new buyers simply strike Cyprus off their prospect list when they see earlier buyers being treated so badly.
Cyprus courts have no juries but millions of media and Internet users around the world, including potential new buyers of Cyprus properties, have become the proxy jury in the O’Dwyer cases and all the other horror stories they read or hear about. With yet more TV exposés imminent in the UK, there seems no end in sight to Cyprus’s property market woes.
Decent developers, lawyers and estate agents that I know (yes, they do exist) are exasperated and fearful of the obvious negative long-term impact on an already flat market. No sizeable developer can rely solely on domestic sales but what foreigner will buy here now?
The Cyprus economy also cannot afford to delay any recovery of its property sector. Prior to the downgrading of Cyprus’s financial ratings by Moodys, S&P and Fitch in recent weeks, Moody’s had cited Cyprus’s ailing property sector as a factor “as it remains a risk area with weak demand and unclear growth prospects”.
This deep self-inflicted wound requires urgent, radical treatment – not a sticking plaster, an aspirin and a hope that the patient will simply recover naturally. However, on Cyprus’s past record of inaction on these matters, the prognosis looks decidedly bleak.
Dr Alan Waring is an international risk management consultant with extensive experience in Europe, Asia and the Middle East with industrial, commercial and governmental clients. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Risk Management and is a founding member of the IRM Cyprus Regional Group. Contact info@dralanwaring-riskconsultants.com.
Corporate Risk and Governance: An End to Mismanagement, Tunnel Vision and Quackery
LAWYER Yiannos Georgiades, acting for Conor O’Dwyer, confirmed to the Cyprus Property News Magazine that an appeal has been filed against the court ruling last month that cleared property developer Karayiannas and Michelle McDonald of any wrongdoing.
The long awaited verdict from the court has caused many people to doubt the protection afforded to those buying property on the Island.
According to the Island’s ‘Specific Performance Law’, the deposit of a contact of sale at a Land Registry prevents a property from being sold for a second time. The contract can only be withdrawn from the Land Registry with the agreement of the vendor (Karayiannas) and the purchaser (Mr O’Dwyer) – or by a court order.
In the O’Dwyer case, the judge accepted that Mr O’Dwyer’s contract had been lodged with the Land Registry and that the developer had resold the property to someone else without O’Dwyer’s consent or a court order instructing the Land Registry to remove his contract.
Successive Governments have promised to revise the Island’s antiquated property laws to provide those buying property with added protection.
In July 2009 the Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis issued a statement that included the following:
“Despite our determination to cut this Gordian knot with the introduction of new legislation for the improvement and reformation of the planning system, as well as the system of issuing property titles, it must be clarified here that even the current system and the existing legislation protects buyers and their ownership status.”
Also in July 2009 the Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry wrote to Graham Watson MEP assuring him that:
“It is worth repeating that even under current legislation, buyers of immovable property are protected, once they deposit the Contract for Sale at the appropriate District Office of the Department of Lands and Surveys according to the Sale of Lands (Specific Performance) Law, Cap.232.”
However, the judge’s ruling the O’Dwyer’s case seems to contradict government assurances, as she did not believe that submission of a sales contract to the Land Registry was enough to guarantee a person’s property rights. As well as finding in favour of the defendants, she also ordered Mr O’Dwyer to pay their costs.
