The Municipality of Kythera is entering a political and institutional vortex, as the initial confrontation over the Domestic Property evolves into a head-on clash between the surveyor George Syrmalis with the Mayor, Efstratios Harhalakis. With a letter-catapult sent to the entire Municipal Council, the Local Councillors of Kythera and the media, the confrontation over the self-governing issues of the two islands becomes a major issue of public money management.

With a long letter - «fire» (entitled Vol. 1), Mr. Syralis, in response to the eviction lawsuit from a municipal property that he received, goes on the counterattack by presenting a «bill» of decades that exceeds the 1.000.000 euros, while directly denouncing the Municipal Authority for «manipulation of competitions» and «theft» European resources from the Recovery Fund.

Introduction with... Shakespeare

The style of intervention is unprecedented. In his introductory note, Mr Syralis borrows lines from Shakespeare's Sonnet 66 («I can no longer see merit begging, zeros being strung up...») to describe the moral decline he attributes to the island's administration.

Also in the note that accompanies the voluminous file of revelations, the well-known engineer no longer speaks with innuendo, but with «equations», outlining a system of interconnectedness that plunders public money and EU resources.

Mr. Syralis directly links the eviction action served on him on 12/12/2025 to the complaints he had made earlier about Domestic Property.

Specifically, it describes a sequence of events:

On 5/3/2025 denounced an encroachment by the family of the President of the Home Office, E. Venardou.
On 18/3/2025, just a few days later, the Municipality raised the issue of the property of the Cassimatis Estate where the engineer resides.
On 6/11/2025 Mr. Syralis filed a complaint with the Prosecutor for the Domestic.
On 12/12/2025 he was served with the eviction notice.

He calls it an «attempt to smear» and claims that the eviction is in retaliation for his revelations.

«You owe me over 1 million euros»

The most glaring point of the letter concerns the financial claim of Mr. Syralis. Responding to the pressure of the Municipality, he states that he will claim in court fees for studies prepared during the term of three mayors (Kalligeros, Koukoulis, Harchalakis) and which, as he claims, remain unpaid. The amount, according to him, exceeds EUR 1.000.000.

Mr. Syrmalis lists studies he has carried out «unpaid» or on the basis of «gentlemen's agreements» which he now considers to have been breached:

Calligeros' tenure: Flood restoration studies, 45 km of roads, Avlaimon and Potamos town plans, Ports .
Koucoulis' term of office: Landfill site, Fratsia Square, Historical Centre of Chora, Aroniadika Sports Centre, Antikythera Heliport, Myrtidia bypass .
Harhalakis' tenure: Airport extension study (costing more than 120.000€) , environmental road commitments , Mormori road (35.000€) , hydraulic studies of Agia Pelagia.

The engineer claims that there was an informal agreement to offset his fees with the repair and maintenance of the estate in which he resided, something the current Mayor disputes.

Sewerage and Recovery Fund

The most dangerous chapter for the Municipal Authority concerns the current sewerage project, which Mr.Syrmalis describes in dark colours, referring to «manipulation of the tender» and «theft». Using heavy-handed characterizations, such as «sodomisation of the study», the experienced engineer complains that the technical specifications were deliberately reduced and the original study was violently altered, with the sole aim of increasing the profit of the contractor and those involved. On the technical side, the accusations are chilling: there is talk of «shallow trenches» that do not meet depth regulations, putting the stability of the roads and the resistance of the network to future flooding at immediate risk, while the pricing of excavations as «en bloc» regardless of soil hardness is criticised.

His specific reference to the money coming from the Recovery Fund and «European taxpayers», leaves the field open for interpretations of possible involvement European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). If the allegations of malpractice in a co-financed project are confirmed, the Municipality risks not only financial corrections (reimbursement) but also legality checks by the competent European institutions.»

«Stop» the use of studies

As an immediate measure, Mr. Syrmalis announces that prohibits the use of its unpaid studies. Given that many of these concern critical infrastructure (legalisation of ports, water supply networks), this move threatens to «freeze» the operation and programming of the Municipality.

The ball is now in the court of the Municipal Authority, which is called to answer how projects worth millions were approved and financed with studies that were... ignored financially and opaque agreements that are now falling apart, threatening to involve the Municipal Authority in legal adventures within and outside the borders.

The Kythera.News, in strict compliance with the principles of journalistic ethics and transparency, maintains in its archives all the documents and evidence sent by Mr. Syralis, which remain at the disposal of any competent authority. At the same time, with a view to the pluralism and objective information of our readers, we have already written to the Mayor of Kythera, as well as to the heads of the opposition, Mr. Zacharias Souris and Mr. Anargyros Sophios, asking specific questions and awaiting their official position on the serious allegations that have seen the light of day.

Below is the letter of Mr. George Syralis in .pdf format: