No testimony has linked the golden passports of specific individuals with contributions to Disy, the independent authority against corruption said on Thursday.

The authority had investigated complaints made by Akel MP Christos Christofides in September 2022, concerning 13 foreign nationals who obtained Cypriot citizenship and had allegedly made contributions to Disy either personally or through companies.

Christofides swiftly responded that the “long delay” in the process since he made the complaint three years and three months ago, “undermined the possibility of documenting the case”.

He furthermore said that the fact that no illegality was determined did not mean that it was ethically right.

In its report, the authority against corruption said Christofides had also made reference to Russian bank Promsvyazbank, saying it may be linked to relatives of a former official.

The investigators were also mandated to determine whether there had been corruption, excluding the investigation of conditions under which citizenship was obtained, which are under investigation separately.

The authority against corruption said that no decree revoking their Cypriot citizenship had been issued against the individuals, nor was there any procedure to do so in place.

Furthermore, there was no testimony linking the naturalisation of individuals under investigation with promises or offers for contributions to Disy then or later giving them an unjustified advantage with public servants or officers, leading to suspicion of corruption offences.

The testimony obtained did not find any link between the naturalisation of the individuals under investigation and contributions to Disy.

Regarding the housing of Promsvyazbank in a building bought by YAM Imperio Enterprises Ltd, there is no testimony to support that the purchase was made on the basis of promises or offers current or future giving the individuals linked to the bank an unjustified advantage with public servants or officers, leading to suspicion of corruption offences.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Christofides said he had made the complaints “in real time, as they were happening and not afterwards”.

He also said the investigation had been assigned to “two retired civil servants, who did not have the necessary expertise or know-how, resulting in successive shortcomings and their resignation from the investigation a year later”.

“No official had been called in from abroad, on the unfounded argument that the cases were not ‘high profile’ even though they concerned the ruling party and the former president, an element that in itself makes the profile of the cases high.”

Following the resignation of the first investigators, two new officers were appointed who had a conflict of interest due to previous appointments by the Disy government of Nicos Anastasiades.

Christofides also called for the report prepared by the Audit Office in December 2023 regarding his complaints to be made public.

“The fight against corruption, collusion and conflict of interest, the struggle for transparency and accountability, must be continuous [and] it will continue,” he said.

After all, he added, through this process, the public interest and transparency are served.