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I am in contact with both the Chief of Police and the Minister of Justice, and I am being informed, the Attorney General of the Republic Mr. George Savvidis, asked by media representatives whether there is anything new in connection with the recent attacks against Legal Service officials and their investigation by the authorities.
Speaking at a conference organized by the Legal Service Academy on Friday, January 19, 2024, at noon, in the auditorium of the Press and Information Office, on the topic: "Compliant, Non-Compliant and Illegal State Aid", Mr. Savvidis, asked whether he has an update on the status of the cases concerning the attacks against Public Prosecutors and whether he has contacted the Minister of Justice and Public Order on the matter, the Attorney General said: "I believe that what I said the other day was the obvious, that, the relevant institutions should do everything they can to solve this crime as well as the previous attacks that have been made on officials of the Legal Service. I do not think I have anything useful to add to what I said the day before yesterday. I am in contact with both the Chief of Police and the Minister of Justice, and I am being informed."
Asked about the opinion requested by the Legal Service in relation to the Register of Beneficiaries, the Attorney General of the Republic replied that there is a political understanding on the matter as to how the problems should be resolved and that the legal officers of the Legal Service are working on it. "I understand there has been a political understanding in Parliament and there is now some issue which relates to how the problems should be resolved according to this settlement that has been made. Officials of the Legal Service are working on the issue and as soon as we are ready we will announce it," he said.
With regard to the opinion sought from the Accountant General on the issue of multiple pensions, Savides said that "we had a telephone conversation with the Accountant General, and a letter had come in requesting an opinion from the Legal Service. As with all other similar cases, this case had been assigned to an officer of the Legal Service who is handling the matter. As soon as we are ready, we will send our opinion to the Auditor General."
Asked further to say whether he considers what the Auditor General says to be valid, Mr. Savvidis replied that "It would not be prudent for me to comment on anything on a matter on which we are called upon to respond legally. When we are ready, we will give our positions and you can draw your own conclusions accordingly." Savides did not comment, again noting the satisfaction of the Legal Service with the conclusion issued by the Authority. "I will reiterate that we are very pleased that the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority has fully exonerated the Assistant Attorney General from the charges and allegations brought before it. On the issue of the Auditor General, I have no comment to make."
As for the topic of today's conference, the Attorney General of the Republic stated that state aid is a very serious issue, which touches upon several activities of the Legal Service, hence, he said, it was considered important for the lawyers of the Legal Service to receive further internal information and training on it. Expressing thanks to the State Aid Control Supervisor Mrs. Stella Michaelidou for accepting the invitation of the Academy of the Legal Service to present and speak on the subject, Mr. Savvidis expressed pride in the work that the newly established Academy is producing saying that "we are proud of this Academy, it has a great work to do and I believe that it will greatly help both the training of our own officials and the training of other Services by Legal Service officials."
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