A defence lawyer strongly disagreed with the prosecution's arguments in the "golden passports" trial. The lawyer for former MP Christakis Giovani said the prosecution's story was different from the first police investigation. He said the prosecution changed the charges, which was unfair.
This trial is about illegal influence and fraud from a citizenship program. The program gave Cypriot passports to rich people. They got passports for investing money. An investigation in 2020 started the scandal.
A key point is the passport for Nikolay Gornovskiy. He worked for a big Russian energy company. Gornovskiy got a Cypriot passport through property deals. The prosecution says Giovani and another official used their power. They helped Gornovskiy get the passport quickly.
The defence lawyer, Giorgos Papaioannou, said the court case was not like the police investigation. He said the prosecution focused on money and rules. This was not part of the original police work. The police only looked at living rules. Therefore, adding fraud charges was wrong.
The defence also mentioned a lawyer named Andreas Pittadjis. His charges were later removed. Pittadjis helped Gornovskiy and Giovani. The defence says Pittadjis was the main person. Giovani only followed Pittadjis's advice.
The defence also noted that important witnesses were missing. Pittadjis was removed from the charges without reason. Gornovskiy, the man who got the passport, was not questioned. The defence says this makes the case weaker. They believe Giovani is being blamed unfairly.