Aykut, who is 73, is known for the Caesar Resort investment in Iskele, faces charges related to a 1 billion Euro development project in Iskele and was arrested on 7 June.
He is charged with constructing buildings on Greek Cypriot-owned properties in North Cyprus and selling them without the owners’ knowledge. His detention period was extended yesterday by the court. The court also ordered the arrest of the company’s board members.
The court decided to extend Aykout’s detention for six more days and issued orders for the arrest of the company’s board members, who will be detained if they attempt to cross into Southern Cyprus.
On the day following Aykout’s arrest, Cafer Gürcafer, President of the Cyprus Turkish Building Contractors Association (CTBCA), described the arrest of Afik Group Director Simon Aykout, a member of the Association, as a “provocative act“, stating that it would only serve to create tension between the two communities during a time when UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Personal Envoy to Cyprus, María Angela Holguín Cuéllar, is working to establish a negotiation table.
In his written statement on the matter, Gürcafer said the following:
“The table that is being worked on is constantly being blown up by some hand, and as a result, it escalates fanaticism instead of common sense within both the northern and southern public, thereby deepening deadlock rather than providing a basis for a solution.
“We are well aware that the arrest of Simon Mistriel Aykout, during a time when UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Personal Envoy to Cyprus, María Angela Holguín Cuéllar, is trying to establish a negotiation table, will do nothing but create tension between the two communities. We hope that this provocative act will be rightly evaluated by all those sensitive to peace. Simon Mistriel Aykout has been living here for many years and is an active figure in the business community. He is also a citizen of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and a member of the Cyprus Turkish Building Contractors Association (CTBCA). We will closely monitor the process and take the necessary steps“.
