Akel lambasts govt over Christodoulides corruption video

The government’s handling of the ‘videogate’ affair leaves a great deal to be desired, and it even suggests the administration may have been subjected to extortion, opposition Akel said on Monday.

In early January, a short video clip surfaced on social media, alleging that associates of President Nikos Christodoulides accepted cash from donors to bypass election campaign spending caps. The video, effectively portraying a pay-for-play scheme, led to the resignation of the president’s chief of staff – one of the persons appearing in the eight-minute clip.

Initially, the government spoke of a “hybrid attack” against the Republic of Cyprus. Authorities are investigating. Then in early April, Black Cube – an Israeli private intelligence agency – claimed it was behind the video. The company said it had been commissioned to expose corrupt dealings in Cyprus.

On Monday, Akel said that serious questions continue to hover over the affair.

The party stated: “Restoring institutions requires transparency and catharsis – not a cover-up and silence.

“Mr Christodoulides has gone quiet about ‘videogate’ and the mechanism of graft that was set up at the presidential palace, even after Black Cube took responsibility for the video, which collapsed the narrative about a so-called ‘hybrid attack’ and ‘a foreign hand’. But the questions are multiplying.”

Akel asked what the 29 hours of raw footage – reportedly tracked down by authorities – contain.

Akel then asked, “how does the government respond to media reports linking the material held by Black Cube to the government’s decision to satisfy the request by the convicted Israeli Simon Aykut to be transferred to Israel?”

This month, Aykut, an Israeli businessman earlier sentenced to five years in prison for the usurpation of Greek Cypriot property in the north, was transferred to Israel to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

“Can the government give assurances that ‘videogate’ and the practices at the presidential palace did not render it susceptible to blackmail?” Akel asked.