Videogate report finds no wrongdoing, dismisses claims as empty talk

Politics corruptionTop News Videogate report finds no wrongdoing, dismisses claims as empty talk Videogate 1024x564 Relevant News Videogate report finds no wrongdoing, dismisses claims as empty talk 20 July 2026 Final hours before 1974 invasion revealed by US, UK, and UN archives 20 July 2026 Rare access to Beaufort Castle reveals Hezbollah’s hidden war preparations 20 July 2026 newsroom 20 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Independent Criminal Investigator Andreas Paschalides has cleared all Cypriot figures named in the Videogate case of any responsibility, delivering a report to Attorney General Giorgos Savvides on Friday that dismisses their public claims as “airy talk and empty chatter.” Phileleftheros has previously reported on the origins of the scandal. An edited video posted on the social media platform X on January 8 appeared to show Charalambos Charalambous, then director of President Christodoulides’s office, offering to help “prioritise” applications from investors linked to a phantom €150 million energy project. Charalambous resigned over the footage, as did the President’s wife, Philippa Karsera, who stepped down from the Independent Social Support Body. Attorney General Savvides ordered the criminal investigation days later and appointed Paschalides to lead it on January 13. The report finds that the footage which surfaced on January 8 is not authentic. Investigators established it as an edited product, obtained through unconstitutional means, carrying minimal to no evidential value. Three Cypriot figures feature in the edited clip. Two are known for their involvement in political affairs and the third for his business activities, the report states. The genuine recording runs to around 26 hours. It also features other current and former figures from Cypriot political and business life, according to the report, though investigators note the original footage is not free of the same factors that affect the edited version’s evidential weight. Investigators secured the authentic recording through the mediation of the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General. With Paschalides’s agreement, the Law Office granted immunity, under strict conditions, to those who took part in producing, recording or publishing the footage, and to anyone else involved in preparing or organising the production. That immunity applies strictly to offences arising from those specific actions, the report says. The report attributes responsibility for the video to a foreign-registered private company with no Cypriot ownership, whose identity and details are known to investigators. The company sells information-gathering services internationally in exchange for substantial payment and employs agents in numerous countries, according to the report. Non-Cypriot agents working for the company produced the footage, and investigators have established their identities too. The report concludes that the video’s purpose was to damage the Republic of Cyprus rather than any private interests, describing it as a form of hybrid attack. It points to the timing, one day before Cyprus assumed the Presidency of the European Council. The video’s release, the report says, bore the hallmarks of a campaign linked to a specific country that has targeted EU member states since 2021, without ruling out involvement by another country hostile to Cyprus. The report also notes that the featured individuals were given differing accounts of investment plans in Cyprus that, at this stage, do not appear consistent with the company’s own stated position on its client’s motives. The investigation examined five separate strands of allegation raised in the video, the report says, each pursued in depth: A Russian oligarch’s absence from EU sanctions: Investigators examined in depth claims by one of the Cypriot figures alleging improper government interference, without ruling out his own involvement, including scrutiny reaching senior government officials. The report found nothing improper and concluded the Cypriot side acted lawfully throughout. A Limassol construction project: One of the figures raised claims alleging favourable treatment of a named member of a well-known Limassol family, obtained through improper means. When investigators asked him to comment further on his own claims, he refused. They pursued the matter regardless and found the claims baseless. The report adds that no family member matching the name given exists. Cash contributions to presidential campaigns: The claims involved cash contributions to the three main candidates in the last presidential election, Nikos Christodoulides, Andreas Mavroyiannis and Averof Neofytou. Two of the Cypriot figures raised the claims prominently in their recorded interviews. Despite repeated assertions from one of them, the report says the investigation found nothing improper, let alone corruption. Lobbying: Investigators examined the conduct of the Cypriot figures and sought the opinion of the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority, which produced a detailed report finding nothing improper. The Independent Social Support Body’s fund: This strand followed claims describing the fund, managed by the First Lady, as an “easy and safe” channel for suspicious payments. Investigators obtained the Audit Office’s report on the fund’s operation and how it identifies donors against contributions, along with a list of donors. That review found the claims baseless, the report says. Separately, three of the Cypriot figures signed confidentiality and service agreements with the purported investors, under which two of them received financial benefits, according to the report. Investigators identified the authentic video, the identity of its producer, the agents involved and the full content of the interviews. They could not, however, establish the identity of the company’s client. The report says uncovering the client’s identity would clarify the motives behind the operation and recommends the investigation continue on this point. The Attorney General has approved extending Paschalides’s mandate to December 31. The report finds no breach of the Criminal Code by any of the Cypriot figures involved. Paschalides and the police investigation team did examine whether their conduct, statements and promises could amount to corruption-related offences under an international anti-corruption treaty Cyprus has ratified (the Council of Europe’s Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, Law 23(III)/2000). Both have expressed reservations on this point, the report says. The report concludes that the remarks by some of the Cypriot figures heard in the video amount to nothing more than “airy talk and empty chatter,” aimed at generating attention around themselves for personal financial gain, which some had already begun to obtain. Investigators invited each of them to comment on this finding. Only one responded, confirming the investigator’s conclusion. The others refused to comment or make any statement. 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