Producers of JIU JITSU film sued Cyprus, and the Auditor General, and Sigma TV for defamation with damages exceeding EU65 MILLION.

NICOSIA, CYPRUS, October 26, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Advocate Yiannos Georgiades on 14/10/2022 filed a detailed defamation lawsuit at the Nicosia, Cyprus District Court against Auditor General Odysseas Michalidis, and The Republic of Cyprus, along with Cypriot media broadcaster Sigma Radio TV, on behalf of the Producers of the film Jiu Jitsu and Man of War for damages exceeding 65 million EU, Case number 1035/2021.

According to the legal action, Auditor General Odysseas Michailidis and his Deputy Marios Petridis led a prolonged campaign of defamation against the producers of the film, namely Dimitri Logothetis and Chris Economides.

 ‘Jiu Jitsu’, the sci-fi action film starring academy award winner Nicolas Cage and Alain Moussi, produced by Chris Economides, Martin Barab, and Dimitri Logothetis. The first major international film to utilize the new Cyprus film cash rebate incentive scheme. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures, earned 4/5 stars on Apple TV, and was the number 4 film on Netflix in America.
 
According to the Statement of Claim: Auditor General Odysseas F. Michailidis published several defamatory cartoons in his government Report.
 
“[…]The Audit Service of the Republic of Cyprus and Odysseas Michailides in their Report falsely and maliciously published on page 23 a drawing depicting the following:

The Claimants climbing up stairs with suitcases full of money […] passing them on to KPMG […] and KPMG delivering the suitcases to the president of Cyprus Invest, Michalis Michael, who issues a certificate[…].
 
Advocate Yiannos Georgiades stated, “this publication was perceived to mean that […] the Claimants bribed public officials, including the President of CIPA Mr. Michalis Michael to illegally extract a certificate of rebate […] and that my clients are frauds, embezzlers and vile persons”.

Advocate Georgiades, stated “that not a single shred of proof was ever produced by Odysseas Michaelides regarding these exceptionally onerous allegations.”
 
The suit holds that such defamatory statements derailed the producers 2nd film, ‘Man of War,” which was issued another certificate by CIPA, and affected the non-payment of ‘Jiu Jitsu’s” cash rebate by the Minister of Finance, and impacted the reputation of the producers both locally and globally.
 
Logothetis says: “We were invited to Cyprus by CIPA to produce our film. We fulfilled our obligations, brought a world class production to Cyprus, with an A-List star, which helped establish Cyprus as a world filming destination. Then the time arrived for Cyprus Invest to pay our investors the Rebate which they approved, and the officials responsible for the payment began stalling, making up excuses, and trying to find a way not to pay! Then their Auditor General suddenly made up lies about us, criticized the Film Rebate plan in the media with false, defamatory, and unsubstantiated statements about us producers, attaching us to their golden passport scandal, among other ridiculous claims! This happens with smaller countries using promises of film rebates to induce producers to spend in their country, and then when it’s time to pay, they don’t! I had thought better of Cyprus, but it seems that was naïve on my part. It appears that the Republic never intended to pay the approved amount of the rebate, and that we were deceived.”

According to the statement of claim, Odysseas F. Michailidis or his staff released false and defamatory information to Cyprus Sigma TV.
 
 “[…] Chrysanthos Tsouroulis and Kyriakos Penindaex […] falsely and maliciously stated during the ‘TOMES STA GEGONOTA’ news broadcast on Sigma TV with Chrysanthos Tsouroulis bearing the title ‘ ODYSSEAS STRIKES A NEW WITH A GOLDEN PASSPORT STENCH’:
 
On the TV broadcast it stated […] the Auditor General has completed another Report which will be seriously incriminating […] it shall bare a golden passport stench […] with special remarks for a specific foreign film […] it is the film Jiu Jitsu […].
 
Advocate Georgiades states, these statements were perceived to mean that “the Jiu Jitsu production and its producers and contributors were involved in the golden passport scandal and were crooks, criminals, and immoral persons”.
 
According to Georgiades “…neither The Auditor General nor anybody from his office ever made any public announcement refuting the above false and defamatory accusations.

When the Auditor’s Report was released 4 months after Sigma TV announced its imminent arrival, there was NO reference in the report connecting the Jiu Jitsu film or its producers to the golden passport scandal, which at the material time received a great deal of press and alleged bribing public servants in exchange for the expedited issuing of Cyprus passports to foreigners.”
 
A further suit has been filed against the President and Director of Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency, Mr. Michalis Michael,  for violating the terms of the Audiovisual Industry program, as well as negligence, and deception.

Advocate Georgiades emphasized that, “ It was appropriate to file this 2nd lawsuit, since CIPA managed the rebate for ‘Jiu Jitsu’ and the rebate application for ‘Man of War.’ The producers claim that CIPA through their Actions and the Auditor General through Defamation derailed the financing of “Man of War” as well as an additional 4-5 films planned for production in Cyprus with combined costs of about 150,000,000 Euro,”

"It's an undisputed fact that Jiu Jitsu was awarded a 35% Cyprus Film Cash Rebate certificate by Cyprus Invest, which induced the producers, and investors to spend their money, and film in Cyprus. Jiu Jitsu spent multi-millions of Euros in the Republic of Cyprus. The producers were told to hire KPMG, Cyprus, one of the largest accounting firms in the world, to audit their Cyprus production spend. The audit showed Cyprus owed the Jiu Jitsu Investors roughly EU8,243,000 plus a VAT refund. KPMG turned in their Audit to CIPA in 2020. To this day Cyprus refuses to pay their approved obligation to our investors;" says producer Martin Barab.

Advocate Georgiades says of the incident: “It is a shame that this opportunity to show the world that our beautiful island is ideal for film production was turned into yet another Cyprus scandal, colored by public servants corruption, greed, and deception, damaging in this way our island’s reputation. Cypriots deserve better.”

Yiannos Georgiades
Georgiades & Associates
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