Ongoing spat between Edek leader and MEP rumbles on

A spat between Edek party leader Marinos Sizopoulos and EU MP Demetris Papadakis over leaked audio of conversation that preceded the MEP’s removal from the party by the party chief continued on Wednesday, with Papadakis saying he would file a complaint to the anti-corruption authority.

“Papadakis tried to create an alibi, and that is why he is the one that illegally recorded the conversation and then published it,” Sizopoulos told Politis radio.

In the audio, which was leaked on Wednesday, the two are heard discussing funds allocated from the EU, and Sizopoulos is heard requesting Papadakis hire two people appointed by Edek for his local office in Cyprus.

Sizopoulos claimed to Politis that he was illegally recorded by Papadakis whose “phone was face down on his desk,” at the time.

Sizopoulos said that if people listen closely to the recording when Papadakis leaves the office, Sizopoulos’ voice is heard more at a distance, and the door can be heard opening and closing as he leaves.

Meanwhile, Papadakis on the same programme claimed that it was one of Sizopoulos’ colleagues who recorded the conversation, which happened in June 2019.

He said that when he left the office, Sizopoulos can be heard calling for another colleague as the door closes for him to leave the office.

Commenting on the how the recording happened, Papadakis said that it was unclear, but that it was not done by him.

Papadakis said: “Here [the recording] is clear that Sizopoulos is leading a criminal organisation.”

On the illegality, Papadakis claimed, as can be heard in the audio, that it is illegal for MEPs to hire people the party tells them to, and then those same people go to work for the party offices.

Sizopoulos had claimed earlier that people who would have been pegged to work for Papadakis would work for the party after their hours at the MEP’s office as volunteers for the party.

Papadakis snapped back saying that Sizopoulos was only saying the volunteer bit now in 2023, and it was not being said in 2019, adding it was an attempt to save face.

Commenting on an investigation by the European anti-fraud office (Olaf), which Sizopoulos ordered against Papadakis, the MEP said the office is required to check all complaints filed, and that Sizopoulos filed the complaint in 2021.

He said he has “nothing to hide”, regarding the investigation.

However, hitting back, Papadakis claimed he would file a complaint with the Cyprus anti-fraud authority against Sizopoulos over the issue of the recording. He said that he has consulted with his lawyers on the matter.