A Cypriot candidate for MEP and famous YouTuber has claimed that his car was stolen, it emerged on Thursday.

In a video he posted on social media, Fidias Panayiotou is seen in a parking space where he says he has just discovered his car is missing. The alleged theft happened while he was abroad in Greece.

“I don’t want to link this to the elections, in the sense that we [meaning himself] may steal someone’s seat in the European Parliament,” Panayiotou says in the video, speaking casually in the Cypriot dialect.

“It’s the first time that someone has stolen my car, never happened before. I’m a little unnerved, and I’m going to call the police.”

Later, still filming, he dials a number and supposedly speaks with the police to report the theft. A voice can be heard on the other end responding to his call.

The Cyprus Mail contacted the police to ask whether the young candidate had in fact filed a complaint about a stolen car. The contact at the police force said he had done a quick check, but found nothing on file. However, that did not necessarily mean that Panayiotou did not file a complaint.

Boasting 2.6 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, Panayiotou has become a sensation on the platform for a number of outlandish stunts, including embarking on a mission to hug Elon Musk. He garnered controversy late last year after attempting to travel across Japan while not paying for his transport and begging for cash.

He announced his candidacy for MEP in a video posted on TikTok last January. Donning three ties, a suit and shorts at the time, Panayiotou announced candidly that he had no idea about politics or the European Union but was willing to learn.

Running as an independent, the young man is polling high. The latest survey done by RAI showed him garnering 8.7 per cent – just half a percentage point behind the Diko party.

Even if he doesn’t get elected, he leaves in his trail four parliamentary parties (Volt, Edek, Dipa, the Greens) who are running on full tickets with six candidates each.