The 45-year-old woman known as Sandy gave a lengthy statement to police last Friday that investigators say has effectively clarified the outstanding questions in the Drousiotis affair, with the investigation now said to be nearing its conclusion.
Sandy is the woman at the centre of allegations published by journalist and Volt candidate Makarios Drousiotis in a social media post on March 30, in which he claimed the existence of an organised network of senior officials.
The investigative team established by the Police Chief to examine those allegations is now awaiting the results of two parallel examinations: a Europol investigation and an FBI profile analysis of Sandy.
Investigators estimate that neither will produce findings that overturn the picture established so far, according to Philenews sources.
The team is said to be convinced that the messages at the heart of the case were fabricated by Sandy herself using a special application, driven by a tendency towards fabrication she exhibited at intervals.
According to investigators, the messages were passed to her lawyer Nicos Clerides, who was not aware they were fabricated.
In her last statement, Sandy reportedly took full responsibility for the messages. She told investigators she had heard names through conversations or by obtaining information through various means, then researched those individuals online before composing the messages. She sent them to Clerides and, when he asked for further details, continued responding hypothetically at the same pace, Philenews sources said.
During the statement, investigators pressed Sandy to clarify specific issues and provide detailed answers. According to Philenews sources, the level of detail she provided was consistent only with someone who had full knowledge of the entire picture.
Investigators also found that she had written incoherent material on a number of occasions to justify claims about dangers she allegedly faced, protection she said she needed, and fears she expressed about what she referred to as the Brotherhood.
She reportedly admitted that those claims do not hold up and gave precise details about each section of the messages she had created. A psychologist and a lawyer were present throughout her statements, and Sandy gave police multiple statements in total.
Seized items and Supreme Court proceedings
Items seized from Clerides’s premises following the Easter Saturday raid on his home and office remain untouched, pending a Supreme Court decision on whether to freeze them until his main application — seeking annulment of the search warrant — is heard. Investigators have not yet processed the seized material, as doing so requires telecommunications data processing orders that have not been sought from a court, pending the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The investigative team has taken statements from all those involved in the case and has examined each of the original allegations one by one.
According to Philenews sources, those allegations have been refuted both by Sandy’s own account and by independent investigation carried out by police experts.
All allegations in the Sandy affair remain unverified. All individuals named in connection with the case have denied any wrongdoing.