Govt repeats denials over Christodoulides donation video

Responses from government officials came thick and fast on Friday morning after a video alleging campaign finance lawbreaking on the part of President Nikos Christodoulides and his associates was widely shared on social media.

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis appeared on Sigma TV early on Friday morning, saying that despite what was alleged in the video regarding Christodoulides’ relationship with construction company Cyfield’s chief executive officer Giorgos Chrysochos, the pair are not in regular contact.

He said Christodoulides and Chrysochos have not been in contact since he was elected on February 12, 2023, and that on that day, “a congratulatory message was sent without response”.

In the video, Chrysochos says he is in regular contact with Christodoulides, a contact that has helped his company.

On the matter of the video itself, Letymbiotis said that the government’s initial position was to question “who created the video, in what capacity and for what reason”, as well as “why it was chosen to be posted by a social network account of dubious origin”.

He added that the video is “accompanied by subtitles, narrations, and a compilation of footage and audio excerpts which aim to lead the viewer to a preconceived and unique conclusion, which does not correspond to reality, as far as the government is concerned”.

The “target” of the video, he said, is “clearly the president, along with the government and the country”.

He then said the video constitutes “an organised effort based on falsified footage, false and misleading allegations”, and had been published “with the aim of damaging” both Christodoulides “and the strategy of the last three years to attract quality investments and upgrade the international image of Cyprus”.

For this reason, he said, “there is no reason for the president to be pressured into taking a position immediately” on the matter.

“He will do so himself when and if he deems appropriate,” he said.

Later, he once again raised questions regarding “the identity and accountability of those behind the video”, as well as “whether laws regarding fake news or defamation are being violated”, before denying all accusations levelled against Christodoulides in light of the video.

“In no case has the president of the republic received money through third parties,” he said, adding that “the president himself has publicly stated that he will never tolerate any questioning of his personal commitment to legality and the fight against corruption”.

Looking ahead, he said that both the police and the legal service will “officially receive the information” regarding the video and, “after evaluating it, proceed with their own decisions and actions”.

Meanwhile, presidential press office director Victor Papadopoulos appeared on Politis Radio and rejected accusations that the ‘social support body’, a fund for students from disadvantaged backgrounds managed by First Lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides, is being run in a non-transparent manner.

“The social support body was created by a previous government and has been chaired by the first lady of the day on all occasions. There is nothing opaque in its operation,” he said.

The video claims that people are making donations to it in return for favours.

He added that there is no “trail” to follow, but “contributions, through which beneficiaries are supported”.

To this end, he said that “transparency is the be all and end all for the current government”, and that when it leaves government, it will have “clean hands”.

The video first appeared on social media platform X on Thursday, having been shared by an account using the handle “EmilyTanalyst” and the name “Emily Thompson”.

At the time the video was shared, the account had fewer than 350 followers, but this number has grown to more than 950 overnight, while the video has amassed more than 250,000 views.

It features close associates of Christodoulides, his chief of staff Charalambos Charalambous and former minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis, appearing to explain how they used and intended to continue to use cash donations to circumvent election campaign finance laws.

Both men also appeared to say that donations to Christodoulides by oligarchs under threat of appearing on international sanctions list would lead to him defending and assisting them to avoid sanctions from the European Union.

Chrysochos, meanwhile, appeared to say that he pays €250,000 per year for his access to the government.

The social media account was registered in 2022 and according to information available on the platform is based in the United Kingdom.