The entourage of the President of Cyprus got into a corruption scandal. What you need to know

A political crisis has erupted in Cyprus after the publication of a compromising video. It accused President Nikos Christodoulides and his entourage of corruption. As a result of the scandal, his wife, who held a post at the charity foundation, and the head of its administration resigned. The government of Cyprus announced a hybrid attack on the country. What is happening in Cyprus, which has assumed the presidency of the European Union, is in the Izvestia article.

How the scandal became known

• January 8 on the X platform (ex. Twitter), an eight-minute video has appeared showing negotiations involving senior Cypriot officials. The video was posted by a certain Emily Thompson, who describes herself in her profile description as an independent researcher, analyst and lecturer studying US domestic and foreign policy. The video was posted the day after Cyprus assumed the presidency of the European Union.

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• In the video's caption, Thompson pointed out that it exposes the "shadow money machine of the President of Cyprus," Nicos Christodoulides. According to the author of the video, he exceeded the limit of € 1 million to finance his campaign in 2023, as a result of which he led the country. Thompson also accused the head of the presidential administration, Charalambos Charalambous, and the president's wife, Philippa Carcer, of participating in a corruption scheme. She was a member of the management committee of the Independent Social Support Agency (AFKS) Foundation, and her sister is Charalambous' wife.

• The video itself contains fragmentary recordings of conversations with Charalambous, former Cyprus Energy Minister Georgios Lakkotripis and Cyfield Construction group director Georgios Chrysochos with a fictitious Dutch investor who is ready to invest €100 million in Cyprus' energy sector. The officials in the video talk about a scheme that allegedly allows transferring funds to President Christodoulides in exchange for services and consideration of certain requests. Part of the funds must go through the Carsera Foundation.

What was the reaction

• The publication of the video caused a political scandal in Cyprus. The accusations against Christodoulides drew the attention of the leaders of the leading political parties and members of parliament, which formed an impressive opposition to the president. Although many of them expressed doubt that the video was authentic and contained verified information, the presidential administration was required to provide explanations and conduct an internal investigation. The media recalled that Christodoulides' presidential campaign was based, among other things, on a promise to root out corruption within the country.

• After the video was released, Lakkotripis issued a rebuttal. He stated that his comments were edited in such a way as to give the impression that a corruption scheme was being discussed. The official called the release of the video an attack on the president and the country itself and filed a lawsuit. Lakkotripis confirmed that he had met with some Dutch investors as a member of the board of directors of the energy company. Two meetings were held in Amsterdam, and another in London.

• The press secretary of the Government of Cyprus, Konstantinos Letimbiotis, also denied the facts stated in the video. He stated that hybrid activities are being conducted against Cyprus, which will be investigated by the competent authorities. According to him, the Prosecutor General and the Chief of Police were immediately informed about the incident. The Independent Anti-Corruption Office of Cyprus is investigating corruption charges separately.

What were the consequences

• Four days after the scandal, Charalambous resigned as head of the presidential administration. He stated that his words were distorted and led the public to erroneous conclusions. The President of Cyprus, Christodoulides, supported the resignation and said that he himself had nothing to hide. He also noted that he would consider the possibility of abolishing AFKS and merging it with another charitable foundation. The president's wife also resigned from her post on the AFKS management committee under the influence of the scandal.

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• The Government of Cyprus has asked for the help of foreign intelligence agencies to find out the origin of the video. Local media reported that the United States, Israel, Britain and France will assist in the investigation. They should help determine the origin of the video and identify the author.

• New consequences of the scandal may appear in the coming months. Parliamentary elections will be held in Cyprus in May. The publication of the video disrupted the plans of the ruling three-party coalition supporting the president's policies. All the leading parties have already distanced themselves from Christodoulides in the hope of avoiding serious damage to themselves on the eve of the elections. The scandal may also affect Cyprus' presidency of the European Union, relegating foreign policy events to the background.