Cyprus court orders extradition of former minister to Greece

A court in Cyprus has ordered the extradition of a former interior minister to Greece over questions related to corruption charges against him.

On Monday, the Cyprus Supreme Court upheld a ruling that called for former Interior Minister Dinos Michaelides to be extradited to Greece within the next 10 days.

Athens seeks to question Michaelides as part of a graft inquiry against Akis Tsohatzopoulos, a former minister and founding member of Greece’s Socialist PASOK party.

Michaelides is alleged to have setup bank accounts for Tsohatzopoulos, who faces charges of accepting bribes when he was defense minister from 1996 to 2001.

Prosecutors also accused Tsohatzopoulos of siphoning funds overseas. The once-powerful politician denies the charges.

In March, a Greek court sentenced Tsohatzopoulos to eight years in jail over an unrelated case involving failure to disclose wealth and submitting false income documents.

Greek authorities issued an arrest warrant for Michaelides after he failed to respond to a summons to appear in an Athens court earlier this year.

Michaelides denied any wrongdoing in the case.