Buyers in Turkish North could fall foul of new Cypriot Law

Developers are positive about the northern Cypriot market, but buyers may be discouraged from investing due to the new law which can sentence them to seven years in jail.

Passed last October 20, 2006, the law applies to anyone caught selling, renting or building on disputed land without the owner’s consent. Several prospective investors have cancelled purchasing agreements for fear of prosecution. According to Kibris, the Turkish Cypriot daily, these investors are Turks, Britons and Israelis.

The new law passed was brought to the world’s attention in November after the highly publicized case of a Russian national named Ekena Merkushova. The accused was arrested as she entered Southern Cyprus, charged with illegally purchasing Greek Cypriot property in the north. Merkushova is presently facing a sentence of seven years in prison if found guilty. She denies the charges, claiming that she was deceived by agents who did not disclose the real owners of the property.

The Turkish Cypriot side said it will have no option but to retaliate. According to Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in an interview by Kibris, the law had been created to raise tensions between the north and the south in a way that would make a solution to the Cyprus problem impossible.

The Cyprus problem was recently made worse by UK’s rejection of Talat’s request for direct flights between Britain and the north. Britain told Cyprus Turkish Airlines that the idea of direct flights to Tymbou (Ercan) is impossible because the area in question is still occupied territory. ‘It would not be possible to authorise direct flights in the absence of agreement by the government of the Republic of Cyprus,” states British Minister for Europe, Geoffrey Hoon, in an address to the House of Commons.

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Buyers in Turkish North could fall foul of new Cypriot Law

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