Former CFA chief Koumas released on €100k bail

Former Cyprus Football Association chairman Giorgos Koumas was on Thursday released on a bail worth €100,000 at the end of the first hearing of a criminal case filed against him in relation to alleged money laundering and conflicts of interest while he was in office.

The case’s next hearing will take place on May 6, with the court having adjourned Thursday’s hearing so as to allow witness material to be provided. He faces a total of 25 charges, which are linked to the sale of football television rights and related financial dealings.

An investigation into Koumas’ conduct had been led by Alexandra Lykourgou and came off the back of a report written by the sports ethics committee, which accused him of having “competing interests”, having investigated suspected manipulation of sports events, including other offences.

When that investigation was nearing its completion earlier this month, attorney-general George Savvides announced the filing of criminal charges.

Koumas had been accused, among other things, of having created an “unfair advantage” for some clubs by way of manipulating the money paid to them as part of television rights deals, and resigned in June last year after Lykourgou began her investigation.

Journalist Fanis Makrides had reported in 2023 that some teams “received money in violation of agreements … in such a way as to create an unfair advantage in favour of some clubs”.

This includes an accusation that money paid to the CFA by CytaVision for television rights to domestic Cypriot football matches “was distributed by the CFA, in time and quantity, according to the will of Giorgos Koumas”.

“It is also noted that he received CytaVision’s millions from the television agreements and sponsorship on behalf of the teams and distributed them as he wanted,” the accusations state. “There were occasions where CytaVision money was given on the instructions of [Koumas] in violation of the agreements made with the clubs,” Makrides’ report said.

In addition, Koumas was accused of having granted a bonus of €200,000 to one club “without reasonable cause”, and that this bonus was granted while the club in question was participating in games surrounded by “suspicious betting activity”.

Upon his resignation, he said he wanted to protect the sport.

“The sport must stop being attacked because of me. And above all, football should be left out of personal attacks and conflicts,” he said, adding that “I did my utmost for the good of football and the good of my country.”