The former director of President Christodoulides’s office faces a criminal investigation for alleged violations of lobbying law after being caught on a viral video offering to “prioritise” applications for investors who turned out to be running a sting operation involving a phantom €150 million energy project.
Police criminal investigators have obtained witness testimony on lobbying legislation violations, marking a development in the scandal that forced Charalambos Charalambous to resign and plunged President Christodoulides’s administration into crisis.
Independent investigator Andreas Paschalides and his team are examining whether Charalambous and others broke the 2022 Transparency in Public Decision-Making Law when promoting what investigators discovered was a fake investment from “Stratix Wealth”—a company that existed only as a website.
A police source told Phileleftheros that independent testimony has been obtained regarding the lobbyist legislation, adding a criminal dimension to what the Presidency has described as “hybrid warfare” using fabricated video.
The probe centres on illegally recorded video footage published on 8 January showing Charalambous telling someone representing the fake investors: “If you proceed with Giorgos (meaning former minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis), let’s say, and start working on the applications and face an issue, give me a call and I’ll phone them to prioritise it.”
That statement may violate lobbying laws requiring officials to register contacts with lobbyists and prohibiting undisclosed influence-peddling—offences that carry six months to three years’ imprisonment and fines of €5,000 to €30,000.
None of the individuals or entities in the video is registered with the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority’s lobbying registry, which lists over 260 registered individuals and entities. It remains unknown whether the Presidency informed the Authority of Charalambous’s videoconference with the person who identified himself as “Florin Gheorghiu.”
The elaborate scheme saw individuals approach Lakkotrypis, a former Energy Minister now serving on an energy company’s board, claiming to represent “Stratix Wealth” and to have plans to invest €150 million in Cyprus’s energy sector. Lakkotrypis was hired and received a €15,000 fee.
The supposed investors’ representative held meetings in the Netherlands and London with Lakkotrypis, and also met Cyfield CEO George Chrysochos, expressing interest in Cyfield’s Vasilikos private electricity generation station.
Under Cyprus’s lobbying law, whilst energy sector contracts are exempt from certain provisions, officials who begin decision-making processes face legal obligations. The law requires lobbyists to register with the Anti-Corruption Authority, and officials meeting with lobbyists must inform the Authority.
Charalambous’s role as presidential office director meant he was an executive authority official with potential access to public decision-making—a key factor Paschalides must examine before submitting his findings to the Attorney General within a three-month deadline.
The legislation criminalises five offences: engaging in public decision-making without registration, registering with false representations, failing to submit reports, submitting false reports, and officials failing to complete communication forms.
The investigation has also raised questions about pay-for-play schemes, an offence applicable to anyone claiming they can influence a public official.
The edited video, published on an X platform account named “Emily Thompson,” showed excerpts suggesting President Christodoulides’s team used cash exceeding the €1 million legal campaign limit and presented a mechanism for companies to contribute money in exchange for special services and having their requests advanced.
Lakkotrypis went to Nicosia Criminal Investigation Department to complain his statements had been spliced to serve a specific narrative and make it appear he was discussing illegal cash movements. The Presidency immediately described it as hybrid warfare and a fabricated video.
Political parties and figures publicly demanded government explanations for the issues raised, regardless of whether the video was the product of malicious editing.
President Christodoulides’s wife Philippa Karsera, resigned from the Independent Social Support Body, saying she reached the decision “so that it stops being used as a pretext for baseless attacks and slander.” Charalambous’s resignation followed the next day.