NICOSIA, (Reuters) – Cyprus’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of sacking the country’s outspoken auditor-general on Wednesday after senior prosecutors accused the official, a frequent whistleblower, of abusing his position.
In a unanimous decision, the court found Odysseas Michaelides, an independent official, had repeatedly displayed inappropriate behaviour and made sweeping allegations of wrongdoing against other state officials even when they had been legally cleared.
Michaelides had frequently been identified with efforts to weed out corruption on the island, though critics say his crusade was selective and occasionally went too far in singling out individuals already exonerated.
The bid to get him fired was petitioned by the island’s attorney-general.
Michaelides had shown a “complete lack of self-restraint and objective judgement”, the court said in its verdict. He also showed a “weakness to perceive the high authority of his office”.
“Taking matters to populist courts displays a person with dangerous perceptions of the basic tenets governing rule of law and the way institutions should work,” the ruling read.
Michaelides said the ruling was effectively a gag order on the Audit Office.
“It’s clear that I clashed with the establishment, and today this establishment decided I should be culled,” he said.
Michaelides’s office compiled reports on matters ranging from a now-discredited cash-for-passports scheme to exposing flaws in tender processes, the most recent being a failed attempt at Cyprus getting LNG supplies from a Chinese-led consortium that is now the subject of arbitration in London.
But he was also known for dragging out arguments with other state officials, making sweeping allegations of perceived wrongdoing and accusing prosecutors – including the country’s attorney-general and deputy attorney-general – of abusing their powers.
He was also prolific on social media, the court said.
