Overview
- A Nicosia court sentenced Israeli developer Shimon Mistriel Aykout to five years after he pleaded guilty to 40 charges tied to projects on Greek Cypriot-owned property in the Turkish-held north.
- Judges cited the gravity of offenses that involved Afik Group developments totaling about 400,000 square meters across four northern sites valued at more than €38 million.
- The court rejected requests for a medical transfer abroad and credited time already served since his June 2024 arrest while crossing from the north.
- Cyprus has pursued similar cases against other foreign developers and agents, with two Hungarian realtors jailed in May and several prosecutions still pending.
- Turkish Cypriot officials and industry leaders denounced the prosecutions as political, as lawyers report panic in the north’s real estate sector and warn investors could pull back.