Cyprus: Corruption scandal engulfs president and his entourage in early days of EU presidency

Brussels – The Cypriot Presidency of the European Council is off to a very bad start. The office of President Nikos Christodoulides has been embroiled in a corruption scandal that is rocking the country’s ruling class and has already led to the resignation of Chief of Staff Charalambos Charalambous and even to the First Lady’s resignation from a company she managed. A mysterious journalist has stirred up controversy surrounding the executive. Her name, at least the one published on social network X, is Emily Thompson. However, it is by no means certain that this person actually exists.

The reporter, or alleged reporter, published a video investigation in which Charalambous and former Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis, filmed secretly, admit how it is possible to obtain favours from the president in exchange for money. The money was allegedly intended for the 2023 election campaign, which led to Christodoulides’ election. The money, delivered in cash, would have circumvented the €1 million maximum funding limit set by Cypriot law.

The video investigation

The content was released on 8 January. The timing, of course, does not seem coincidental. The Cypriot Republic has taken on the Presidency of the European Council at the beginning of 2026. George Lakkotrypis, former energy minister and appointed consul of Kazakhstan in 2023, denounced the manipulation of videos involving him: “It is clear that the statements have been edited to distort the context of the discussions.”

Can’t even describe what I just received!
BREAKING BOMBSHELL VIDEO EXPOSES CYPRUS PRESIDENT’S SHADOW CASH MACHINE!
President Nikos Christodoulides allegedly SMASHED the €1M campaıgn fınance cap vıa a sneaky family network!
Brother-in-law Charalambos Charalambous (Director of… pic.twitter.com/B9YDR1Y3T3

— Emily Thompson (@EmilyTanalyst) January 8, 2026

“Hybrid attack” hypothesis

The Cypriot president, on the other hand, denounced the incident as “a hybrid attack aimed at damaging the country’s image,” without directly denying the authenticity of the images. On 12 January, the first resignation came: that of the director of the presidential office, Charalambos Charalambous, who reported the incident to the police. In the video, the official states that he is the point of contact between companies seeking favours and the president: “Decide what you want to do and you can go to the president and make your offer.”

The mechanism

The mechanism that emerges from the video involves a social support organisation run by the First Lady, Philippa Karsera, called Independent Social Support Fund. According to rumours inferred from the video, companies made donations to the state fund she presided over and then received political benefits in return. Karsera resigned from her position today.

The content published on X examines the case of the Luxembourg-based investment company, LetterOne. The financial company has two important Russian shareholders who have been sanctioned by the European Union: Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven. According to Lakkotrypis in the video, “I worked hard to ensure that Cyprus took a firm stance against their sanctions.” The implication is that this determination came after a cash payment from the two oligarchs. The Court of Justice of the European Union lifted the sanctions against the two on 10 April 2024.

Philippa Karsera quits ISSB presidency amid vicious online attacks – defends total transparency, no personal gain, thousands of children aided. #sigmalive_english #PhilippaKarsera #CyprusFirstLady #Karsera #Christodoulides #Cyprushttps://t.co/dRftX7NsM7

— SigmaLive English (@Sigmalive_EN) 12 January 2026

Doubts about the truthfulness

Despite the wave of resignations, several networks are questioning the authenticity of the images. Citing government sources, Cypriot media outlets have linked the images to the Russian disinformation campaign “Doppelganger”, known for anonymous videos passed off as investigative journalism. The Cypriot news site
Sigmalive

has published an article investigating the dubious veracity of the X account that disseminated the content. The profile identifies the author as an “independent researcher, analyst and lecturer, specialising mainly in US domestic and foreign policy” based in London. However, the repetitiveness of the posts and the numerous reposts raise suspicions that, behind the mask of professionalism, there is a bot. Furthermore, on the website  thethinkingconservative.com, which features several articles signed by her, the author’s photograph appears artificial.

The EU presidency could be “lame”

In any case, the mystery deepens. This is not the first time that the foundation mentioned in the video has been accused of being a grey area for obtaining favours from the presidency. In October 2024, President Nikos Christodoulides vetoed a law that would have made donors public. A few days later, secret documents about the financing companies were leaked. The dissemination of the video, of dubious attribution, increases the pressure on Christodoulides in any case. Elected by his citizens to eradicate the fraudulent Cypriot system, he is now involved at the highest levels. What can already be imagined is that the political instability in Nicosia could make the Cypriot presidency of the EU Council uncertain, if not completely immobile.