Cyprus President's Aide Resigns Amid Corruption Video Controversy

Corruption Allegations and Political Fallout

NICOSIA, Jan 13 (Reuters) - A senior aide to the Cypriot president has quit over a video that opposition politicians allege shows high-level corruption on the east Mediterranean island but which the authorities dismiss as an attempt to discredit the country.

Charalambos Charalambous, who ran President Nikos Christodoulides' private office and was one of two people at the presidency overseeing a fast-track process for investments in Cyprus, denied wrongdoing but resigned on Monday.

The eight-minute video, posted on X on January 8, showed current and former senior officials including Charalambous discussing how to invest in Cyprus with people who introduce themselves as business figures.

Video Content and Reactions

It has dominated local media headlines, overshadowing Cyprus's assumption of the European Union presidency on January 1 - a position it will hold for six months.

It is not clear who made the video and Reuters was unable to verify its authenticity. 

"My own participation, through deliberate distortions, selective excerpts and references in a different context, guided by misleading conclusions, is being exploited," Charalambous, who is related to the president by marriage, said in a statement. "Under no circumstances will I allow anyone to cast aspersions on my honesty."

In the video, Charalambous is heard suggesting to an unidentified person on a video call that they can direct money to corporate social responsibility projects and that he could call Charalambous if there were problems with red tape.

Christodoulides said in response to the video that he has zero tolerance for corruption, adding: "I will not let anyone, but anyone, accuse me of corruption." 

OPPOSITION SAYS GOVERNMENT TURNS BLIND EYE TO CORRUPTION

Police are investigating the origins of the video and some of the allegations it contains, a spokesperson said, without providing further details.

Government and Opposition Responses

The video says some donations ended up in a scholarship fund run by his wife, Philippa Karsera, who quit the role on Sunday, calling the video and uproar around it "merciless attack of false news and defamatory allegations".

"That I am the spouse of the President is no excuse for these unsubstantiated attacks and claims," she wrote on Facebook, saying it was an affront to her and her family.

Cypriot lawmakers have expressed concerns about the fund's refusal to disclose its benefactors.

The conversations shown in the video posted online last week appeared to be secretly recorded on hidden cameras. Several scenes were taken at restaurants, and others in hotel rooms. 

A voiceover in English alleges that the conversations reveal corruption, but provides no evidence to support this. It is not clear who is speaking in the voiceover.

Opposition parties say the government's response suggests authorities turned a blind eye to corruption. 

"Unfortunately, your stance confirms that you are simply recycling the old practices of not taking political responsibility, covering up scandals and impunity," Stefanos Stefanou, head of the Communist AKEL party, wrote in a letter to Christodoulides.

Government sources told Reuters individuals heard in the video introduced themselves as investors wanting to make a 150-million-euro ($175-million) investment in energy projects in Cyprus. The whereabouts of these people is now unknown, and their corporate website is no longer online, the sources said. 

Investigations and International Assistance

Cypriot police and intelligence services have sought assistance from the United States, Israel, France and Greece to track the origins of the video, one government source said.

($1 = 0.8571 euros)

(Writing by Michele Kambas, Editing by Timothy Heritage)