No criminal wrongdoing was found on the parts of any of the public figures who appeared in a video which was leaked in January alleging  campaign finance lawbreaking on the part of President Nikos Christodoulides and his associates, investigator Andreas Paschalides said on Monday.

He said that the video is “not authentic” but instead “the product of editing”, and that “therefore, in addition to being a product of unconstitutional actions and therefore inadmissible testimony, it is of little, if any probative value”.

“In these, from the Cypriot side, three individuals are the protagonists, two of whom are known for their active involvement in the country’s political events, while the third is known for his activities in the business sector,” he said.

As such, he added, “the goal of the production of the video appears to be to harm the Republic of Cyprus and not private interests”.

He pointed out that Cyprus had undertaken the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency just days before the video was published, and said that the video had “all the characteristics of a specific campaign conducted by a specific country”.

That campaign, he said, had “the aim of attacking, among others, member states of the European Union”.

He said that those who featured in the video, Christodoulides’ now former chief of staff Charalambos Charalambous, former minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis, and Cyfield’s chief executive officer Giorgos Chrysochos, “were given different scenarios in relation to investments in Cyprus which, when evaluated, do not appear, at least at this stage, to be consistent with the company’s position regarding its client’s motives”.

As such, he said, “the conclusion is justified that the video is a form of hybrid attack aimed at harming the Cypriot state”.

Regarding the issue of the government allegedly helping donors to it avoid sanctions from the European Union, he said the matter was “investigated in depth … without anything reprehensible emerging”.

“On the contrary, what emerged was that the Cypriot side, at all times in question, acted completely legally,” he said.

He went on to say that “responsibility for the production of the video lies with a private company, with non-Cypriot interests, registered abroad”, with Israeli private intelligence agency Black Cube having confirmed to the Cyprus Mail in April that it was behind the video.

Black Cube, he said, had received “large sums of money”.

“The company maintains and employs agents in a multitude of countries, and in this specific case, the company’s agents, not Cypriots, were recruited to produce the video, the evidence of which was secured by the investigators,” he said.

On the issue of the social support body, a fund managed by the first lady of the day which offers financial assistance to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, he described the allegations of wrongdoing linked to it as “reprehensible” and “reproachable” in themselves.

Meanwhile, the legal service confirmed that it had taken receipt of Paschalides report into the matter last week, and said that its findings will be studied and evaluated.

Attorney-general George Savvides said he had also decided to extend Paschalides’ term in office as an investigator until the end of the year, so as to investigate the Black Cube’s potential motives and clients, in collaboration with the police.

The video first appeared on social media on January 8, having been shared by an account using the handle “EmilyTanalyst” and the name “Emily Thompson”.

It features Charalambous and 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.

Additionally, it was alleged that the social support body was being used by donors to curry favours with Christodoulides.

In light of the video’s publication, First Lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides resigned from her role as the social support body’s chairwoman and Charalambous resigned from his role as chief of staff.