Aykut’s sentence sends ‘resounding message’
The conviction of Israeli property developer Simon Aykut, who was on Friday sentenced to five years in prison for usurping Greek Cypriot properties in the north, sends an “international message”, well-known lawyer Christos Clerides said on Saturday.
“This decision is the first, which sends a resounding message in all directions, especially to those who intended to invest illegally in the occupied territories,” Clerides said.
He stressed that the ruling would likely discourage others from both engaging and investing in similar activities, adding it was a strong message to other “real estate agents” illegally selling Greek Cypriot property in the north.
“It is a message that they are doing it at their own risk and that most likely they will never obtain a legal registration title,” he said.
Clerides lauded the way the Greek Cypriot authorities moved forward with the case and said the ruling paved the way for the prosecution of buyers of homes and other properties built on Greek Cypriot land in the north.
“I hope that those who until today thought that the de facto situation has been transformed into de jure will come to their senses. This has not happened and will not happen without our signature,” he said.
He said that Aykut’s conviction sent a message to Greek Cypriots that property rights were not destroyed over time and also to Europe, emphasising that there was still an illegal occupation in Cyprus and that “acts concerning the occupied territories” could neither be recognised nor converted rightfully.
“It is a message of optimism on our part and of hope,” he said.
Following the court ruling, Aykut’s and his lawyer Maria Neophytou have 10 days to appeal the severity of the sentence. So far, however, there has been no indication from them of their intention to proceed with an appeal.
It currently remains unclear, whether Aykut, who holds Turkish, Israeli and Portuguese citizenship, will serve his sentence in Cyprus or will be deported to one of his “home countries”.
According to local media reports, the court had previously also rejected claims that Aykut’s prostate condition could not be adequately treated in Cyprus’ Central Prisons.
Should he be transferred to another country, his sentence would be adjusted to the respective country’s prison regulations.
Seventy-five-year-old Aykut had been sentenced to five years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to 40 of a total of 242 of charges he faced related to the development and sale of Greek Cypriot property in the north.
The plea had been entered after a deal between the prosecution and the defence the previous week.
Out of the initial 242 charges, 60 are related to “fraudulent real estate transactions”, 60 to the possession of stolen land, 62 to money laundering, and 60 to conspiracy to commit a crime.
The businessman was arrested in June 2024 while attempting to cross from the north at the Ayios Dhometios crossing point and has remained in custody ever since.
During Aykut’s guilty plea hearing, prosecution lawyer Andreas Aristides had told the court that Aykut “was active in the occupied territories in the field of land development and real estate construction without having secured the consent of the legal Greek Cypriot owners”, adding that the case was “unfolding in the context of the ongoing Turkish occupation of Cyprus”.
Aristides said that Aykut, via his company Afik Group, “participated in the construction and commercial exploitation of six large tourist complexes in areas such as Ayios Amvrosios, Trikomo, Gastria and Akanthou, on plots of land belonging to displaced Greek Cypriots”, which were later put up for sale for an international audience.
“No consent was given by the legal owners for any use of their properties,” he said.
The complexes include the Caesar Cliff, the Caesar Resort, the Caesar Beach, the Caesar Blue, the Caesar Breeze and the Caesar Bay. According to Aristides, they have a market value of over €36 million and cover 394,969 square metres of land.