Parliament discusses granting investigative powers to the anti-corruption authority

The Cyprus Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs is reviewing three legislative proposals aimed at granting the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority the power to appoint independent criminal investigators. This initiative follows the recent publication of the 'Mafia State' report, which identified potential criminal offenses involving former President Nicos Anastasiades and 12 other former officials. Currently, the authority lacks the power to conduct criminal investigations, a function primarily held by the Police under the supervision of the Law Office, or by investigators appointed by the Attorney General and the Cabinet. The proposals include amendments to the laws regarding the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Authority and the Criminal Procedure Law. These legislative efforts were spearheaded by deputies from the ALMA party—Odysseas Michaelides, Eirini Charalambidou, Litsa Drousiotou, and Michalis Paraskevas—alongside DISY deputies Dimitris Dimitriou and Giorgos Pamboridis. A key point of the current debate is the constitutionality of these proposed changes, as previous attempts since 2022 were stalled by similar legal and constitutional concerns. If passed, the authority would be able to finalize investigations into corruption and provide documented recommendations on whether to pursue criminal charges.