The man behind the Jho Low parody account on X/Twitter that has hit the news this week said on Sunday that the police had not contacted him over recent comments about the ministry of health.
In an interview with Politis he said that he had been alerted by the platform but had had no contact from the Cyprus police.
On Saturday police repeated a denial it had tried to shut down the account on X (formerly Twitter) after pressure from President Nikos Christodoulides.
Instead, police had moved to “inform the platform” to examine whether X’s own terms and conditions had been violated by the parody account.
The Jho Low the Presidential Baptismal Parody (@CommentaryJho) comments on the political-economic and social life of Cyprus in relation to corruption.
In recent days it has commented on the ongoing war of words between Health Minister Popi Kanari and the permanent secretary of the same ministry Christina Yiannaki and was responsible for the issue of the latter’s qualifications to resurface.
According to the interview with Politis, the man behind the account was born in Nicosia but has lived in the US for the last 40 years after staying there once he completed his studies.
“It would not be an exaggeration to claim that mentally I live in Cyprus,” he said.
But he said he doesn’t like the corruption on the island and people’s apathy to what is going on around them in addition to the lack of institutions on the island that safeguard abiding by the law.
An example of this is what led to the account’s name. Jho is the poster boy of the island’s golden passport programme, he said. “A man who embezzled more than $4 billion, wanted around the world, fled to Cyprus, where he managed legally to get a Cypriot passport”.
But the man behind the account remained anonymous, saying only he is “simply a Cypriot who loves his country, and who is pained and saddened by the plight of Cyprus. Living permanently abroad, I can no longer tolerate being ashamed to talk about my country.”
He said less than 10 people know he is behind the Jho account.
But after the account has garnered increased notoriety, he said he will remain anonymous to protect his family both in America and Cyprus. He said he does not want trouble from those he exposes.
However he did admit he does not work alone but “knows a lot of people” who give him tips and information.
And he answered ‘yes’ to the question ‘So it is true that you became a millionaire abroad and now you are doing your hobby/fun with the account Jho.’
But he is hopeful for the future. “Young people are thirsty for change,” he said, “for information, they want to participate in public affairs It seems that the new generations no longer accept it [corruption]. With proper information we may be able to become a real democracy.”