Man arrested at Ercan Airport after he was found with large sums of money

A man has been arrested by Turkish Cypriot police and remanded in custody for suspected money laundering.

The suspect, only identified by his initials as YKT, is under investigation after he arrived at Ercan Airport from Istanbul with 500,000 Euros in his hand luggage.

Suspicions were raised when police asked what the money was for. He claimed it was for property purchasing for a friend. 

A police officer giving evidence in court stated that the suspect had arrived from Istanbul at Ercan Airport at 6.30pm on July, 19. He stated that he declared a total of 500,000 Euros in his suitcase to the Ercan Customs Branch as money he had brought for “investment” purposes. 

Following checks made on the records regarding the suspect, it emerged that he also had been investigated on March, 24 for bringing  600,000 Euro into the country which the suspect claimed was for a  “property and housing purchase”. 

He was arrested at that time for failing to declare the cash.

The judge hearing the evidence at Lefkosa Crown Court granted the police a two-day extension to his detention.

LGC news