The resignation of First Lady Philippa Karsera from the head of the Management Committee of the Independent Social Support Body, along with yesterday’s presidential announcements regarding the intention to abolish it, should not serve as a reason or pretext to suspend parliamentary efforts to reveal the agency’s donors. This is because the disclosure of donor names – an objective pursued by DISY through a new legislative proposal – would allow an assessment of whether:
- Any benefits were granted in return for donations to the agency, which MPs have alleged since 2024 was used for getting electoral votes. As implied in the widely publicised video, for a major investor to bypass bureaucracy or secure the favour of President Nikos Christodoulides, a contribution would allegedly need to be made to the body chaired by the First Lady, rather than to any other charitable institution.
- A conflict of interest arises. A recent audit by the Audit Office identified cases involving individuals and legal entities that made large donations to the body amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros – while simultaneously holding state contracts or seeking new ones. As the Audit Office rightly notes in its findings, “the lack of transparency characterising the operation of the body creates conditions that may give rise to public doubt. This is because the spouse of the President of the Social Support Body is simultaneously the President of the Republic, who takes decisions that directly or indirectly affect the businesspeople and private companies making the contributions.”
A Special relationship
Cases of special relationships and conflicts of interest recorded in the Audit Office’s report – as well as any that may emerge should donor names be made public – must be the subject of a criminal investigation, in order to determine whether ulterior motives lie behind private donations.
They must be investigated
Since March 2023, when Ms Karsera assumed leadership of the body, the body’s revenues multiplied. According to a table published by the Audit Office, donations amounting to €4.4 million were recorded in 2023 and 2024, while during the same period the foundation distributed €2.2 million in assistance to needy students.
From an examination of contribution and donation lists submitted to the Audit Office – combined with information obtained from other competent authorities, such as the Registrar of Companies and the Ministry of Interior – several noteworthy findings emerged. For these to be further investigated, the nominal lists of donors must be made public or submitted to Parliament, indicating the amounts contributed and the timing of payments. Among the cases identified are the following:
- A natural person, listed only by name, contributed €600,000 in 2023 and 2024, with no other identifying details recorded.
- A company negotiating a large, long-term state contract in 2023-2024 made donations totalling €695,750 (€395,750 in 2023 and €300,000 in 2024).
- Shipping companies that had made no donations between 2018 and 2022 contributed significant sums in 2023 and 2024. One company donated €200,000 in each year; a second contributed €400,000 in 2023 and €500,000 in 2024; a third donated €50,000 in 2024. During the same period, the corporate group to which the largest donor belonged participated in a major EU co-funded project exceeding €10 million. It is also noted that in early 2024, the Council of Ministers issued a tonnage tax decree directly affecting shipping companies’ taxation.
- A credit servicer licensed by a competent authority donated €80,000 across 2023 and 2024.
- Financial services companies, for which regulatory violations were under examination or which were engaged in settlement procedures with authorities, donated between €10,000 and €50,000 during the same period.
- Individuals linked to the Cyprus Investment Programme contributed substantial sums. One individual and a connected company donated a combined €235,000 between 2019 and 2024, with annual amounts ranging from €10,000 to €70,000. Another individual, a shareholder in several companies, paid approximately €170,000, including €100,000 in 2023, with the remainder paid between 2018 and 2019.
- A natural person whose company received a construction permit for a commercial property donated €200,000 in 2023 and €200,000 in 2024.
- Three related healthcare companies donated a total of €90,000 in 2023 and 2024, while a decision by a competent authority regarding transactions of the corporate group was pending.
DIKO’s position heard
Last Saturday, DIKO President Nicolas Papadopoulos, accompanied by the party’s General Secretary Giorgos Solomou and parliamentary spokesperson Panicos Leonidou, met President Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace. The sole topic was the high-profile video that triggered government resignations. DIKO submitted three proposals:
- The resignation of the President’s Office Director and brother-in-law Charalambos Charalambous over statements attributed to him in the video, which were not denied and severely exposed the President. This proposal was accepted.
- The abolition of the body chaired by the First Lady and its transfer to the State Scholarship Foundation, an option President Christodoulides left open yesterday.
- The appointment of independent criminal investigators to examine the video. In this instance, President Christodoulides appeared satisfied with the fact that the case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Savvas Angelides. However, the latter must clarify whether instructions were given to investigate whether the individuals featured in the video committed any criminal offences.
Will the President dare?
Asked yesterday whether he intends to publish the list of the social support body’s donors, President Christodoulides said there is absolutely no problem doing so, within the framework of the law. Naturally, one wonders why this has not been done until now.
Let the donor lists be published, even now, so that the truth may come to light. The presidential couple and their associates insist there is nothing improper. Very well, then: here is a golden opportunity to prove it.
This article was originally published in the Politis daily newspaper.