Three companies allegedly contributed a total of €85,000 illegally to DISY, according to findings by the Independent Authority Against Corruption published on Thursday.
The authority’s three inspection officers found donations made to DISY by three different companies before three years had passed since their establishment and registration with the Registrar of Companies.
The officers concluded the donations “may be irregular or illegal” and referred the matter to the Interior Ministry’s director general, who serves as Registrar of the Register of Political Parties, according to the report.
Phileleftheros first identified one potentially illegal contribution in September 2022, involving Tigerview Holdings Ltd. The other two companies emerged from additional information obtained by the Independent Authority Against Corruption. The revelation took a new turn following Thursday’s publication of the authority’s report into complaints by MP Christos Christofides.
Whilst the three inspection officers did not connect donations made to DISY by naturalised citizens with the process of obtaining Cypriot passports, they examined the donations issue more broadly.
The three companies
The authority identified the following contributions:
Oxley Planet Vision Properties Ltd (registered on 20 January 2017 and renamed Resort Beyond Ltd) contributed €10,000 on 25 January 2018, €10,000 on 1 February 2018 and €25,000 on 25 January 2019.
Tigerview Holdings Ltd (registered on 22 December 2017) contributed €20,000 on 30 January 2018.
Holimax Investments Ltd (registered on 23 June 2017) contributed €20,000 on 11 November 2019.
The Political Parties Law of 2012 states that private contributions exceeding €5,000 can be made by legal entities—companies—provided they have been established in the Republic for at least three years.
Officials respond
Phileleftheros contacted Interior Ministry Director General Elikkos Elia by telephone on Thursday. He said he was not aware of the authority’s finding but assured “we will investigate it”.
DISY spokesman Onoufrios Koulla said the party respects the authority’s report, noting that “for some years now there has been improvement at all levels” in efforts towards transparent procedures.
He added that DISY has spent money to acquire control mechanisms for its finances “to comply even with the strictest legislation”. Speaking about how DISY acts to serve transparency, he commented that “if only all political forces” had the same willingness. He also mentioned some who raise their voices to appeal to populism but make contradictory statements.
No corruption evidence
The authority’s investigation did not find evidence indicating corruption regarding Christofides’ complaints. The AKEL MP had made two complaints in September 2022—the first concerning foreign investors who obtained Cypriot passports and appeared to have made contributions to DISY, and the second relating to naturalised investors who were shareholders in Russian bank Promsvyazbank.
The bank operated in Cyprus and was housed in a building owned by the bank in Limassol, constructed by a building company founded by Yiannis Misirlis, former President Anastasiades’ son-in-law, according to the complaints. The authority found no evidence that the property purchase involved any improper advantage to public officials or officers.
Inspection officers appointed were Lemonia Kaoutzani, former judge, Demetris Georgiadis, economist and chartered accountant, and Demetris Tsolakides, a lawyer with experience in criminal cases. They conducted eight sessions and hearings, heard 16 witnesses including naturalised citizens, and received 73 exhibits, many of which were multi-page documents.
“There is no evidence from which it emerges that the naturalisation of the investigated persons occurred due to a promise or offer of present or future advantage and consequently due to provision of unjustified advantage by the naturalised persons to public officials and/or officers through contributions to DISY that would create suspicion of corruption offences,” the authority stated.
MP criticises delay
In a written statement on Thursday, Christofides expressed his dissatisfaction, suggesting the delay in investigating his complaints affected the course of the investigation.
“The excessive delay, three years and three months from submission of the first complaint, is substantive since the passage of time substantially undermined the ability to document the case,” he noted. He added that the Transparency Commissioner’s public insistence that “Mr Anastasiades is not under investigation”, whilst the complaint clearly concerned him personally, further strengthened his concerns.
Christofides said the investigation was initially assigned to two retired civil servants without the required experience and expertise, resulting in repeated reversals and ultimately their resignation a year later. He claimed no officer was called from abroad with the unfounded argument that the cases were not “high profile”, despite concerning the ruling party and the former president.
He noted new officers were appointed, some with apparent conflicts of interest due to previous appointments by the DISY-Anastasiades government. Commenting that criminal offences were not substantiated, he said “this does not mean there ceases to be manifest conflict of interest”.
Koulla said the situation “leads nowhere” and requires respect for findings “without petty political motives”. He noted that transparency and prevention of corruption are achieved through institutional changes, support for independent institutions and through sober public discourse and consensus.
He accused some of “continuously poisoning society” for political gain or personal advancement, warning such practices divert political life “onto dangerous paths”. He concluded by citing the party’s firm position for “transparency everywhere, control over everything and zero tolerance for anything proven reprehensible”.
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