Cyprus appointed an independent criminal investigator to probe all aspects of an alleged illegal recording scandal involving Presidential Palace staff, including possible lobbying law violations.
The Attorney General appointed Andreas Paschalides, a former Supreme Court judge, to investigate any criminal offence related to a video posted on X platform under the account “Emily Thompson” on 8 January 2026, the Law Office said.
The investigation will now examine not only those who created the video but also the three men who complained about the illegal recording—former government official Giorgos Lakkotrypis, the President’s office director until Monday, Charalambos Charalambous, and Cyfield managing director Giorgos Chrysochos.
The direction of the criminal investigation had been unclear until the Law Office’s statement clarified that authorities would examine all aspects of the case.
Under the terms of Paschalides’s appointment, the investigation will cover the video’s content, authenticity, origin, circumstances and motives for its production and publication, “as well as any other matter arising from the above investigation,” according to the Law Office.
The investigation must be completed as soon as possible and within three months, the statement said.
Lakkotrypis filed a complaint within hours of the video’s publication, alleging illegal recording of his contacts with purported investors from Stratix Wealth, a company that claimed to be ready to invest €150 million in Cyprus’s energy sector, and misleading editing of his statements.
On Friday, Lakkotrypis gave a supplementary statement at Police Headquarters, submitting documents about his three-month cooperation with Stratix Wealth. Charalambous gave his statement on Sunday, one day before resigning, whilst Chrysochos testified on Monday.
Police representative Vyronas Vyronas told the Cyprus News Agency the investigation covered “the entire spectrum of the video we saw in public,” but had not made clear whether authorities would examine the three complainants’ roles.
The criminal investigation will focus on two areas, according to sources.
First, the malicious actions of the video creators, whose production is attributed to a well-organised group.
Second, how the three men acted and whether they had obligations under legislation such as the lobbying law.
Authorities are expected to request judicial assistance from the Netherlands and Britain, if they have not already done so.
Lakkotrypis gave investigators specific details about three meetings in Amsterdam and London with the alleged investors, including restaurants where they dined, hotels that were booked, airline tickets, a three-month contract, and three bank transfers of €5,000 each.
The “business introduction” came from lawyer Markus Baumgartner, who is presented as maintaining a law firm in the Netherlands, Lakkotrypis told police.
He also provided information about people who met him representing the shell company, including someone calling himself Florin Georghiou.
The payments and hotel, and airline bookings left traces in the banking system, making them traceable.
Legal circles told Phileleftheros that contacts with Stratix Wealth should not have been conducted under the radar, pointing to the Cyprus Investment Promotion Organisation and the business and investor support service of the Energy Ministry as appropriate channels.
The second part of the investigation centres on possible responsibilities arising from lobbying legislation and whether the three men had an obligation to declare their contacts with the shell company.
Legal circles also noted that the offence of trading in influence could apply. The same offence was charged in the Al Jazeera case, and is brought against those showing even an intention to act unlawfully.
In the Al Jazeera case indictment, defendants were accused of claiming “they could exercise improper influence on a public official so that he would take action or omission relating to the exercise of his duties”.
The video shows Charalambous speaking with someone purporting to represent Stratix Wealth in a 45-minute video conference that also included Lakkotrypis.
In illegally recorded excerpts, Charalambous says: “If you proceed with the process with Giorgos (meaning Lakkotrypis), let’s say, and you start working on applications and face an issue, give me a call, and I’ll call them to prioritise it”.
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