Christodoulides’ chief of staff resigns in video storm

President Nikos Christodoulides’ chief of staff Charalambos Charalambous on Monday announced his resignation from the post after a video which alleged that he had engaged in campaign finance lawbreaking to aid Christodoulides was widely shared on social media last week.

His resignation was announced via a post on social media, though he maintained his innocence, writing that “ in recent days, a targeted effort has been underway to personally harm the president of the republic, to question the government, and to damage the image of our homeland”.

“My own participation, through deliberate distortions, selective excerpts, and references in a different context, guided people to misleading conclusions, is being exploited, without the intention of a sober reading of the real information, which will be extracted from legal procedures, in a way which undermines not only individuals, but also the very trust with which we must protect institutions,” he said.

He added that it was for this reason that he gave a testimony to the police on Sunday, “stating the truth, which I have always served, and the real context of the fragmented reports about me”.

“I will not, under any circumstances, accept that the slightest shadow be cast on my honesty, nor on my sincere intention to contribute to my country. Much more, I will not allow my presence in the government to be transformed into a tool of exploitation with the aim of harming the Republic of Cyprus or the president of the republic,” he said.

He said that it was for this reason that he had elected to resign, and that to this end, “for me, the primary duty is to protect the country, the government, and the president of the republic”.

“At a time when our homeland needs stability, credibility, and clear political discourse, I choose for the sake of transparency to resign, so that my presence will not continue to be used to the detriment of our national aspirations and collective effort,” he said.

On this point, he said that “all institutions of the republic must act to restore the truth”, and that the truth “will demonstrate the malicious intent of the orchestrators of this attack”, in reference to the video.

“Personally, I leave with a sense of pride in what has been achieved in the last three years, as a result of the hard, intensive, and systematic work undertaken by the president and the government. I deeply believe that this path will continue, that our country will remain firmly committed to its principles, strengthen its position internationally, and progress for the benefit of its citizens and our national goals,” he said.

This, he said, “is what is essential for me”. He then added, “Cyprus above all”.

In the same post, he wrote that “from the first moment, I believed and stood by the side of [Christodoulides], in the joint effort to upgrade our homeland and to strengthen, with a plan and seriousness, all of the Republic of Cyprus’ factors of power”.

He added that he had “never been a person of political ambitions” and that he never sought political office.

“My participation in the government was not an end in and of itself, but a conscious choice of contribution, as a contributor to an ambitious governance programme which aims to strengthen our country, to protect its institutions, and to progress our society,” he said.

The video first appeared on social media platform X on Thursday, having been shared by an account using the handle “EmilyTanalyst” and the name “Emily Thompson”.

It features Charalambous and former minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis appearing to explain how they used and intended to continue to use cash donations to circumvent election campaign finance laws.

Both men also appeared to say that donations to Christodoulides by oligarchs under threat of appearing on international sanctions list would lead to him defending and assisting them to avoid sanctions from the European Union.

Construction company Cyfield’s chief executive officer Giorgos Chrysochos, meanwhile, appeared to say that he pays €250,000 per year for his access to the government.

The social media account was registered in 2022 and according to information available on the platform is based in the United Kingdom.