The government on Thursday night responded to a video circulating online alleging corruption within the Presidential Palace, saying it contained “false, misleading claims and arbitrary conclusions”.
The eight-minute video includes supposed recordings of senior political and business figures – using a hidden camera – allegedly discussing cash contributions for President Nikos Christodoulides’ election campaign in 2023 and 2028, as well as ways to buy influence and get things done, from securing permits to removing individuals from sanctions list.
How to buy access and influence
The video released on Thursday afternoon on social media platform X shows supposed investors talking to three high-profile individuals allegedly about how to make donations to gain access to the Presidential Palace.
Two of the three – former Energy Minister Georgos Lakkotrypis and CEO of construction group Cyfield Georgios Chrysochos – confirmed to Politis that they met with alleged Dutch investors to discuss investment opportunities last November.
According to Lakkotrypis, he served as a consultant for the Dutch company which went by the name ‘Stratix Wealth’ and was interested in investing €150 million in the energy sector in Cyprus, including the energy power plant built by Cyfield.
Both Lakkotrypis and Chrysochos maintain the video footage is the product of manipulation – with different conversations spliced together out of context. Lakkotrypis also filed a complaint with the police last night. The third individual, Director of the President’s Office Charalambos Charalambous, did not respond to calls for comment. However, sources close to the government spoke of a Russian footprint behind the video
Can't even describe what I just received!
— Emily Thompson (@EmilyTanalyst) January 8, 2026
🚨 BREAKING BOMBSHELL VIDEO EXPOSES CYPRUS PRESIDENT'S SHADOW CASH MACHINE!
President Nikos Christodoulides allegedly SMASHED the €1M campaıgn fınance cap vıa a sneaky family network!
Brother-in-law Charalambos Charalambous (Director of… pic.twitter.com/B9YDR1Y3T3
Business, politics and influence
The video depicts a smoky nexus of business, politics and influence carrying through the halls of the Presidential Palace under the pretext of donations and corporate social responsibility (CSR), raising serious questions of transparency and conflict of interest.
Account holder Emily Thomspon (@EmilyTanalyst) who claims to be an analyst and lecturer mainly focused on American domestic and foreign policies said she received a “breaking bombshell video” that “exposes (the) Cyprus President’s shadow cash machine!”
The video’s creators remain unknown though the narrator starts with a damning indictment of President Christodoulides, saying he came on to the scene with promises of rooting out corruption but ended up simply evolving “old corrupt methods”.
Campaign funding
In the footage, Lakkotrypis is shown talking to the unseen investor about Christodoulides becoming foreign minister in 2018.
“But more importantly, we are very good friends. He calls me frequently, he trusts me,” he said. Lakkotrypis added that he was one of the first to support Christodoulides’ 2023 election campaign.
The former energy minister then describes the one-million euro cap on election spending in Cyprus, allegedly saying: “So, sometimes they have to depend on cash, to be able to go above that budget.”
Lakkotrypis appears to discuss Charalambous, referring to Christodoulides’ chief of staff, whom the president trusts. “He entrusted him with financials during the campaign,” Lakkotrypis is shown saying in the video.
Lakkotrypis is shown saying: “For someone like Nikos who doesn’t have a party behind him, it’s not easy for them to find the money. This is why Charalambos told me, look, when the time comes, ok we will need money in the campaign.”
CSR donations
The video shows an online conversation with Charalambous where the director of the president’s office appears to refer to Lakkotrypis as a “very good friend of the president”.
Charalambous is shown telling the alleged investor to decide what they want to do exactly and then come to the president to make an offer. He allegedly explains how:
“I’m telling you off the record now, George […] you can come and say OK we want to do this business and we’ll have this amount also of money to go for CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) purposes.”
Charalambous then allegedly gives an example of an American investor who made a half million euro contribution to the government. The office director later suggests he could arrange for the investor to meet with Christodoulides, allegedly noting: “Maybe the president has something to propose.” He added that if the investor gets stuck in bureaucracy, Charalambous can prioritise their applications.
Sanctioned individuals
In another part of the video, Lakkotrypis allegedly discussed work he did for a pharmaceutical company whose holding company includes sanctioned individuals. The former minister is shown telling the potential investor that he spoke to the president to make sure “Cyprus puts a firm stance in the EU” for one of the individuals not to be sanctioned. He added – according to the footage – that he arranged a call between the pharmaceutical company chairman and the president after advising the former to donate €75,000 to the Presidential Palace.
Close contacts
The third person shown on camera is Cyfield’s Georgios Chrysochos who also rejected the statements attributed to him, saying they were edited and taken out of context.
Chrysochos told Politis that the investors had an online discussion with him first and then suggested they meet in London at the end of last November. He notes that at no point in the video is he heard referring to President Christodoulides, arguing the video is a product of manipulation.
He is seen in the video talking about a person, saying: “I can talk to him freely, I mean, I see him every two weeks.” He then tells the alleged investor that although they avoid public contact, Chrysochos can call this person right now and he will answer. “The relationship is one of the biggest assets we have,” he says.
“We have everyday communication, let’s see what we… it’s like my girlfriend,” he says, picking up his phone. Chrysochos told Politis that this specific statement referred to another political figure and not the president.
The CEO also talks about completing a project by going from office to office, government authority to authority, “pulling the right strings”.
The First Lady’s Fund
The unknown video narrator argues that the method of corruption, beyond cash for election campaigns, is through donations to the First Lady Filippa Christodoulides’ Independent Social Support Agency Fund.
Lakkotrypis is heard talking about the First Lady getting funding for her projects. He explains that first the investors meet the president, and then the First Lady to see if they can help out with projects that either may have.
The video cuts back to Chrysochos saying that, under the radar of publicity, “We gave her €10,000 every year.” He then says he spends €250,000 every year on donations, noting that every time the President or First Lady hold a philanthropic event, he is there.
Manipulation through ‘hybrid’ activities
Chrysochos told Politis that his words were manipulated, that he “never referred to the president’s name” and that the company’s CSR annual donations amounting to €250,000 are all on record.
In a written statement, Lakkotrypis said: “It is clear from the video that the statements attributed to me have been edited to distort the context of the discussions, with the ultimate aim to harm our country, the President of the Republic himself and me personally.”
Government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the competent state service has assessed the video as “malicious” and “a product of editing”.
“The video in question attempts to damage the image of the Government and the country through false, misleading claims and arbitrary conclusions,” he said, adding that the authorities are examining “a case of hybrid activity” and have informed the Attorney General and Police Chief.