Deputy Attorney General Savvas Angelides has raised serious concerns with President Nikos Christodoulides about ongoing threats against him and delays in anti-corruption investigations, telling him he may leave his post unless changes are made.
Angelides did not submit a written resignation or send any letter to the president raising issues connected to his resignation. However, he met Christodoulides and raised several concerns during their discussions, sources said.
The conversation took place in a friendly rather than institutional atmosphere, and he indicated that without changes on specific issues, he is unwilling to continue as deputy attorney general or tolerate continued targeting, sources said.
News of the meeting leaked after the Politis newspaper reported yesterday in a political commentary that Angelides had submitted his resignation to the president, who refused to accept it and asked him to reconsider.
Sources from both the presidential palace and the Law Office categorically denied that the deputy attorney general submitted a resignation.
Officials initially considered issuing a formal denial of the resignation but ultimately decided against it, judging that concerns affecting the Law Office and Angelides specifically should not become the subject of public confrontation, sources said.
A statement would have opened public debate on issues related to security, organised crime, law enforcement effectiveness and potential motives behind targeting of the deputy attorney general’s office and Angelides personally, sources noted.
The main issue Angelides raised with President Christodoulides was the anti-corruption authority and delays in examining cases concerning him, sources said.
The deputy attorney general considers the delays unjustified and bordering on mockery, believing the matter takes on various dimensions as the prolonged handling of the case serves a specific narrative.
The anti-corruption authority is an independent institution, so the discussions with the president took place in an informal framework.
Angelides also has other concerns related to organised crime, law enforcement operations and aspects of criminality involving threats and blackmail, sources said.
He has expressed his intention to leave if changes are not made, making clear he will not tolerate continued targeting by third parties with ulterior motives whilst indicating a collective effort is required to address these situations, sources said.
According to Politis, the president and deputy attorney general met at the presidential palace last Wednesday. The meeting concerned a resignation submission by the deputy attorney general made to the president last Sunday, 15 November.
The president saw Angelides at the presidential palace at 8am on Monday and tried to persuade him to stay. Angelides remained unmoved but after interventions by colleagues and friends contacted by Christodoulides, another meeting took place on Wednesday.
Politis also reported that the deputy attorney general’s most significant concern involves threats against him through phone calls, some apparently originating from known serious offenders whom the prisons department appears unable to control.
Law Office sources noted that Angelides feels aggrieved by the stance of certain anti-corruption authority officials who allegedly keep complaints against him in their drawers so that certain known-unknown individuals feel they can blackmail him. The complaints relate to nolle prosequi decisions he made in the past.
