Pyramid scheme suspect’s lawyer hits out at media

The lawyers of a man arrested on suspicion of operating a pyramid scheme on Thursday hit out at the media, insisting their client is innocent and that the media had operated in an “immoral” fashion by reporting on their client’s arrest.

The lawyers, Pelagia Kyriakidou, Klearchos Christofi and Christiana Theodorou, complained that the media had reported that their client, a 54-year-old man, may be the “leader” of the pyramid scheme, while the man himself insists that he in fact was simply another victim of the scheme.

They said the media should have allowed for “both sides” to have their stories heard equally, and the media’s behaviour in relation to the case amounts to a “flagrant violation of our client’s right to a fair trial”.

This is the case, they said, as “society now believes that our client is Metamax”, the name of the pyramid scheme, also known as a ponzi scheme.

“The position of one side has been given unlimited space to be completely presented to the public, while the position of our client has been given zero space to be heard. Those positions have been emphatically expressed in recent days,” they added.

They went on to say their client had handed himself in to the police in Paphos “having received threats” and to file a complaint against an unnamed and unidentified person inside Metamax who had defrauded him.

As the letter drew to a close, they then said that if the media do not publish their positions, “our client will consider that [they] are contributing to the continuation of the hostile climate against him”.

Despite maintaining his innocence, the lawyers’ client was arrested on Friday night last week on suspicion of having operated a pyramid scheme.

He was remanded in custody for eight days on Saturday, accused of conspiracy to commit a felony, obtaining money by false pretences, and of having laundered the money he obtained.

Police believe the offences were committed between April and June this year and were related to a pyramid scheme which went by the name “Metamax”. The man reportedly presented himself as “the leader of Metamax Cyprus”.

People were invited to invest in Metamax after receiving a password, and Metamax would credit their accounts with cryptocurrencies. Investors would then receive a bonus when they referred other people.

The website was subsequently shut down, with no recourse for the victims to withdraw the money they invested.

The police’s investigation began following complaints filed in the Limassol, Larnaca, Nicosia, and Paphos districts from people who said they had invested in the scheme and lost their money.

Meanwhile on Thursday, the police announced that another man, aged 63 years old, was also wanted in connection with the case, while a total of 50 complaints have been filed in relation to it.

They added that the total amount having been stolen from the complainants is currently estimated at €150,000.