The months‑long investigations into the high‑profile videogate case - which points to what appears to be a well‑organised mechanism of alleged corruption within the Presidential palace - are nearing completion without, according to information, producing solid evidence establishing bribery and corruption offences against two close associates of President Christodoulides, namely his former office director and relative by marriage, Charalambos Charalambous, as well as former Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis.
If these reports are confirmed, which are circulating from the Presidential environment and beyond, it is considered extremely difficult for criminal liability to arise for the CEO of the Cyfield Group, Giorgos Chrysochos, whose investment was at the centre of the recorded discussions in the video.
The criminal investigator Andreas Paschalides, who was appointed by the Attorney General on 13 January 2026 to supervise and guide the criminal investigations, is expected to submit his report by the 16th of the month, unless a further extension is deemed necessary.
The same information suggests that both the criminal investigator and the investigative team of the Police Headquarters CID are adopting the position of the Israeli company Black Cube - which operates as a 'private Mossad' and stands behind the controversial video - that the target of videogate was Cyfield and not President Christodoulides.
Black Cube publicly claimed that it was paid to reveal that the Cyfield group is corrupt. However, in order to establish corruption, someone must provide payment and someone else must respond with acts of facilitation, favouritism or arrangements. Since, therefore, no wrongdoing appears to be attributed to the two close associates of President Christodoulides, no responsibility is expected to be assigned to the CEO of Cyfield, Giorgos Chrysochos, whose investment was promoted by Charalambos Charalambous and Giorgos Lakkotrypis.
The video
The case came to light on 8 January 2026, when an eight‑minute video was posted on the platform “X” by an account under the name 'Emily Thompson.' It featured conversations concerning, among other things, the funding of President Christodoulides’ 2023 election campaign, as well as alleged channels of access for investors to the Presidential Palace.
The eight‑minute video featured Giorgos Lakkotrypis, Charalambos Charalambous and Giorgos Chrysochos. The investment in question concerned an amount of €150 million in the Cyfield Group’s power generation plant in Vasiliko.
As it emerged, the supposed investors were in fact operatives of Black Cube acting undercover. According to information made public, meetings with Mr Lakkotrypis took place over months in luxury hotels and restaurants in London and Amsterdam, while in his statement he acknowledged receiving a monthly fee of €5,000 as a consultant.
The publication of the video triggered a chain of political developments. Charalambos Charalambous resigned from his position as Director of the President’s office, while First Lady Philippa Karsera stepped down from the presidency of the Social Welfare Body, which appeared in the video to be linked to political favours and vote‑seeking practices.
The reactions
The Presidential Palace described the video as “a product of fabrication, distortions and hybrid intervention,” categorically rejecting its content and speaking of a targeted attempt to destabilise the Republic of Cyprus. For their part, those appearing in the video claimed it was a manipulated product, with selective editing and fragmented presentation of conversations that distorted their true content and created misleading impressions.
The investigations
Criminal investigator Andreas Paschalides was given a three‑month deadline to complete the criminal inquiry.
The first official update on the progress of the investigation came on 6 April 2026, when it was announced that the Attorney General had approved an extension of the criminal investigation until 16 June, as the investigative authorities had “secured the entirety of the primary audiovisual material”. This concerns approximately 30 hours of recorded conversations, from which the eight‑minute video released on platform “X” was extracted. This was considered crucial in assessing whether the published material accurately reflected the content of the conversations or constituted a product of selective editing. According to information obtained by Politis, the eight‑minute video does not accurately reflect the content of the discussions.
Black Cube
Politis revealed in its edition of 10 April 2026 that the Israeli intelligence company Black Cube was behind videogate, giving the case international dimensions. The company was founded in 2011 by “veterans of elite Israeli intelligence units,” as stated on its website.
What caused particular sensation was that immediately after the report by Politis, Black Cube issued a statement confirming its involvement in the case - an extremely unusual move by the standards of the company. Not only did it not deny its involvement, but it confirmed it publicly, even stating that it was “proud” of its role “in exposing corruption cases involving Cyfield.”
Furthermore, the company emphasised in its statement that it had “cooperated with Cypriot authorities” and expressed confidence that the investigations “will lead to the truth and bring those responsible to justice," thus giving the case even broader political and institutional implications.
However, the stance of the Israeli Black Cube raises reasonable questions: why did a company that traditionally operates behind the scenes choose to publicly assume responsibility for such a sensitive operation? Under what conditions and terms was the full material delivered to the Cypriot authorities? And above all, why does Black Cube appear to attribute exclusively to Cyfield the role of recipient of the alleged corruption, leaving outside the frame the two close associates of President Christodoulides who appear in the video promoting a €150 million investment in Cyfield’s power plant?
Another equally reasonable question is who in Cyprus possesses such immense financial power as to secure the services of one of the most powerful private intelligence and espionage firms internationally, with the aim of targeting Cyfield. In short, who reached deep enough into their pocket to produce the controversial video?
Public explanations required
The Attorney General, Giorgos Savvides, who will have the final say on how to proceed, must inform citizens about how and when the Police team, together with the criminal investigator, came into contact with Black Cube, given that the Cyprus Intelligence Service was also involved in the case. Was assistance requested from Mossad to locate Black Cube? Was there any agreement with the intelligence service or at political level between President Christodoulides and Benjamin Netanyahu?
It must also be clarified what actions were taken to ensure that Black Cube delivered all the audiovisual material from the illegal recordings and that no selective editing or manipulation took place to incriminate only Cyfield. Could it be that Cyfield was not the real target, but that responsibility is being shifted onto it in order for the Presidential Palace to emerge unscathed?
