Breaking his silence four days after the video went viral, Christodoulides, who has faced mounting pressure from coalition partners, put on a brave face as he protested his innocence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn such moments of crisis, any leader, when his hands are clean, must be calm,\u201d he told reporters on Monday. \u201cI am here. I am publicly taking a position. I have nothing to fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was, he said, important that \u201cforeign states and the European Union<\/a>, itself\u201d had weighed in with help to source the origins of the 8.5-minute video. The island\u2019s intelligence services and cybersecurity experts are also investigating.<\/p>\n \u201cI call on all the responsible state authorities to use all the tools they have at their disposal to fully investigate this affair,\u201d Christodoulides said.<\/p>\n The video \u2013 posted on the user account of a self-described independent researcher named Emily Thompson \u2013 caused uproar when it began circulating barely 24 hours after Cyprus<\/a> launched the opening ceremony of its EU presidency on 7 January.<\/p>\n It starts with its female narrator saying: \u201cHe burst on to the presidential scene in 2023 promising to root out corruption after the last government. Two years later, the worst fears of Cypriot citizens have now been confirmed. He hasn\u2019t thrown out the old corrupt methods. They\u2019ve simply evolved.\u201d<\/p>\n Within hours government sources were describing the footage as \u201cmalicious and clearly edited\u201d, with officials speaking of a hybrid attack that bore all the hallmarks of an enemy state such as Russia.<\/p>\n In a montage, most of which appears to be secretly filmed, the video depicts aides and allies of Christodoulides, including Giorgos Lakkotrypis, the former energy minister and Charalambos Charalambous, his chief of staff, in conversation with unidentified investors.<\/p>\n Both men are heard saying that access to the president is possible in exchange for cash donations that could be funnelled to a charitable fund assisting children in need headed by the first lady.<\/p>\n In one snippet, Lakkotrypis told his interlocutors over wine that because Christodoulides ran as an independent without the backing of a political party, \u201csometimes they have to depend on cash\u201d to bypass the \u20ac1m (\u00a3870,000) cap on campaign funding.<\/p>\n \u201cFor someone like Nikos who doesn\u2019t have a party behind them, it is not easy for them to find the money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In another, the former minister explains how he has enabled a Russian oligarch, with links to a pharmaceutical company on the island, to escape EU sanctions by speaking to the leader. A \u20ac75,000 donation, made by the company, \u201cgot the attention of the president\u201d, he tells them.<\/p>\n Charalambous, who is the president\u2019s brother-in-law and oversaw his campaign finances, is similarly heard saying that investors could have access to the president if they made a proposal and offer of money.<\/p>\n Both men have denied the allegations, saying the comments have been taken out of context and distorted.<\/p>\n After Charalambous announced his resignation on Monday, the president described it as \u201can act of self confidence\u201d and \u201cnot of pressure or guilt\u201d.<\/p>\n The first lady, Philippa Karsera, said she would be stepping down from her position as head of the charity citing the \u201cunrelenting attack\u201d she and her children had been subjected to on social media.<\/p>\n But with Cyprus\u2019s image believed to be tarnished at a time of its greatest visibility on the world stage and with parliamentary elections set for May, opposition parties called the resignations too little, too late.<\/p>\n Cypriot society, they said, now wanted answers that would disprove the corruption charges and assure them a cover-up was not under way.<\/p>\n Quick GuideContact us about this storyShow The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.<\/p>\n If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Select \u2018Secure Messaging\u2019. <\/p>\n SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post<\/p>\n If you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768262531_965_4000.jpg\")
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