Statement by the General Secretary of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou on the video which alleged campaign finance lawbreaking on the part of President Nikos Christodoulides and his associates
9 January 2026, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
The video raises important political, ethical, and other serious issues concerning the President and his entourage.
The President of the Republic remains personally exposed. The issue is personal, ethical, and deeply political.
This is an issue of institutional entanglement/interwoven interests and corruption, which is magnified by the manner and content of the Government’s reaction, which shows that it is of diminished moral stature.
AKEL will act as a bulwark and will take the lead in ensuring transparency and accountability on the whole issue.
AKEL calls on the relevant institutions to proceed ex officio with the investigation of what appears in the video. We call on the Attorney General, the Anti-Corruption Authority, and the prosecuting authorities to rise to the occasion and demonstrate that they will deal with the issues that arise objectively and decisively. We demand that light be shed on a case that has many ramifications and aspects, which, at best, raises many agonising questions about the Government and the ethics of its practices.
Even if we were to accept that the video is malicious, that there is a hybrid war waged against the government and the Republic of Cyprus, the authenticity of what is said is not in question. Not even the government’s belated initial reaction questioned the authenticity of what was said.
We recall that the video shows one thing: the director of the Office of the President of the Republic — who happens to be the President’s brother-in-law — appears to describe practices of the government’s entanglement with business interests in exchange for favors and services. The video shows that there is a mechanism in place at the Presidential Palace for both financing and the execution of these favors.
The video refers to cash financing to dodge the limit set by the relevant law in election cases, which is €1 million.
The video even mentions practices to bypass the sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia in order to serve oligarchs.
In the video a reference is made to an extra-institutional actor, who served as a Minister in the previous government, acting as a mediator to serve interests, having a direct and special relationship with the President of the Republic.
It is clear that practices that were followed by the previous government, in which Mr. Christodoulides served as a prominent leading executive, continue to be applied in his own government too.
In addition, AKEL’s initial reaction:
- Calls for the immediate dismissal of the Director of the President’s Office, Mr. Charalambous, and his removal from the Presidency as a minimum assumption of political responsibility by the President.
Mr. Charalambous’ continued presence is an affront to the institution of the President.
- With regard to the notorious Fund of the President’s wife, Mrs. Philippa Karseara, we demand its abolition, after first disclosing the names of its donors. AKEL has a relevant position in favor of the abolition of the Fund and the transfer of its responsibilities elsewhere, e.g. to the Cyprus State Scholarship Foundation.
I have called the fund in question notorious because it is well known that there have been extensive discussions, both inside and outside parliament, regarding the transparency that should exist, both for donors and for the management of the fund. AKEL raised these issues, which were very intense and continue to be intense because they concern transparency and accountability, which we so desperately need in the times we live in.
Finally, we call on the Parties that support and participate in the government to take a clear position: do they distance themselves or not from the government practices that undermine the political life of the country, our very country itself?
They must answer this glaring question.
