Statements made in recent days to Politis by the Republic’s Auditor General and treasurer of the Social Support Foundation, Andreas Antoniades, in which he said he favours transparency and would submit “any information” to Parliament, raised expectations that he would present a full list of donors and donation amounts at Wednesday’s session of the House Institutions Committee.
Those expectations were not met. Antoniades did not submit the requested data, which MPs had formally sought in writing on 15 January. Instead, he provided general information on donations made to the Foundation since 2020, attaching the logos of some, though not all, corporate donors listed on the Foundation’s website.
Antoniades told MPs he had refrained from submitting the detailed data because he lacked legal cover to do so. For that reason, he said, he had requested a legal opinion from the Attorney General earlier this week to determine whether Parliament’s request could be satisfied and, if so, in what manner.
Legal opinion pending
Wednesday’s session made clear that there is a serious possibility the data may not be provided to Parliament at all.
Senior state counsel Eirini Neophytou confirmed that the Auditor General had sought guidance from the Legal Service. As part of preparing its opinion, the Legal Service also requested the views of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, Maria Manoli Christofidou.
According to Neophytou, the Commissioner submitted her position on Tuesday and it will be taken into account in the Attorney General’s final advice to the Auditor General. When asked directly by MP Alexandra Attalidou whether her opinion supported or opposed the disclosure of donor names to Parliament, the Commissioner declined to answer, saying she would respond in writing.
She did, however, note that under existing legislation even legal entities enjoy data protection where disclosure could lead to the identification of natural persons. Based on this position, MPs believe the advice transmitted to the Legal Service likely argues against disclosure, even under confidential or classified conditions.
Neophytou said the Attorney General’s opinion is expected to be delivered in the coming days.
Comparisons with party donations
MPs reacted strongly to the Commissioner’s position, pointing out that donations to political parties exceeding €500, from both legal and natural persons, are published on party websites without issue. They questioned why legal and procedural barriers appear to arise only in relation to the Social Support Foundation, which until recently was overseen by the First Lady, Filippa Karsera.
Karsera resigned last week following revelations linked to the videogate affair.
By law, political parties must publish donor lists annually in the name of transparency and public accountability. Article 5 of the Political Parties Law requires parties to disclose, by 30 June each year, the names of donors contributing more than €500, along with the total amount donated. The maximum annual donation allowed per person or entity is €50,000.
The €500,000 donation did not materialise
Presidential Undersecretary Eirini Piki faced a barrage of questions related to videogate but declined to answer, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.
She did confirm, however, that the widely reported €500,000 donation mentioned in the video by Charalambos Charalambous, director of the President’s Office and brother-in-law of Nikos Christodoulides, has not been made.
According to Piki, discussions with the investor are ongoing so that, should the donation eventually materialise, it would be allocated to education, in line with the donor’s wishes. The stated aim is to support an artificial intelligence education programme in schools.
Lack of transparency flagged by Audit Office
A representative of the Audit Office said its review of the Social Support Foundation revealed serious transparency shortcomings. Issues of potential conflicts of interest involving donors will be examined in detail at Thursday’s session of the House Audit Committee.
MPs are seeking full disclosure of donors behind multi-million-euro contributions in order to assess whether:
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Any quid pro quo was provided in exchange for donations to the Foundation, which parties and MPs have alleged since 2024 is being used by the Presidential Palace for vote-seeking purposes.
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Conflicts of interest arise, given Audit Office findings that some donors, in certain cases contributing up to €600,000, had active state contracts or were bidding for new ones at the time of their donations.
Donations since 2023
Figures submitted in broad terms by the Auditor General show a sharp rise in donations after Karsera assumed the Foundation’s presidency in 2023:
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2020: 23 donors contributed €560,914
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2021: 8 donors contributed €368,091
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2022: 24 donors contributed €260,100
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2023: 85 donors contributed €2,269,005
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2024: 94 donors contributed €2,176,196
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2025: 118 donors contributed €2,049,909
Donors listed without amounts
Based on company logos submitted to Parliament, without further details, donors to the Foundation include, among others: Schoeller Holdings, OPAP, Safebulkers, CSL, ecommbx, fintella, XM, Dynacom Tankers Management, Alphamega, Papaellinas Group, Papantoniou Supermarkets, Astrobank, Eurobank, Hellenic Bank, Bank of Cyprus, National Bank of Greece (Cyprus), Nicosia Mall, Bioland Energy Group, CNP Insurance, EKO, Kanika Hotels, Four Seasons Hotel, Libertex, Mitsides, Deloitte, Super Home Center and Hygeia Polyclinic.
Amounts attributed to individual donors have not been disclosed.