Cyprus Court of Appeal keeps German realtor in custody on 46 charges

The Cyprus Court of Appeal unanimously rejected an appeal by German realtor Ewa Izabela Kuenzel, who had asked to be released from custody under conditions pending the conclusion of the trial. The decision of the Nicosia District Court, which had denied her request, was upheld.

Kuenzel faces 46 charges, including fraudulent real estate transactions, disposing of plots belonging to others without the owners’ consent, and laundering proceeds of crime. The case concerns residential complexes built in 2023-2024 in Agios Amvrosios, in the Kyrenia district of Northern Cyprus.

The realtor has been in custody since 19 July 2024, and the trial began on 3 March 2025. The defence had previously asked for her release on bail or for her detention to be suspended, but those applications were rejected, and appeals against the refusals were unsuccessful.

This time, the defence cited the length of her detention, delays in the proceedings and the fact that the defendant had no previous convictions. The court was offered security of €300,000 and accommodation at a specific hotel in Nicosia for the duration of the trial.

The Court of Appeal found neither unjustified delays nor bad-faith conduct of the case by the prosecution. The emergence of a new witness, additional materials and the wait for testimony from witnesses abroad, the ruling said, were explained by the complexity of the case and the volume of evidence, meaning that the overall length of detention was justified.

The argument that the defendant had effectively already served the equivalent of a three-year sentence was deemed premature by the court: it is impossible to predict the future sentence at this stage, and therefore it is also impossible to speak of a reduced flight risk. The court likewise rejected complaints about violations of constitutional and human rights.