All digital evidence in the “Sandy” affair is being sent to Europol’s EC3 cybercrime unit for forensic examination following a Cabinet decision on Wednesday, as Phileleftheros yesterday handed police more than 150 files related to the case.
A member of the investigative team, which is based at the Police Academy, collected the files from the newspaper’s premises via USB drive.
The material — comprising screenshots and PDF documents — allegedly includes messages exchanged by the woman known as “Sandy” with other individuals, as well as messages purportedly sent by a Supreme Court judge to state officials and third parties.
Phileleftheros said in an accompanying written statement that it had obtained the files from a highly reliable source it has worked with repeatedly, and was making them available to the authorities in the public interest.
The newspaper said it could not authenticate the content. Investigators also received printed copies of three Phileleftheros articles on the affair, dated April 6, 8 and 9.
The Phileleftheros journalist (Fanis Makrides) secured the files last Sunday and published the first report on Monday, April 6. The files cover communications across Telegram, Messenger, Facebook, Signal, Viber and SMS.
According to the screenshots, “Sandy” is the central figure, with conversations touching on senior state officials, MPs and politicians. Investigators are scrutinising the messages for authenticity: they carry no dates or timestamps, are fragmentary, and in some instances show officials addressed in unusual ways.
Some messages appear to have been photographed while “Sandy” was typing notes, and some earlier messages in certain conversations appear to have been deleted.
The files submitted by Phileleftheros are also expected to be forwarded to Europol.
All files sent to Europol
Researcher and author Makarios Drousiotis, who first brought the messages to public attention, submitted 137 files and a 34-page accompanying note to police last Tuesday. Lawyer Nicos Clerides had previously handed police hundreds of files.
The woman known as “Sandy” has allegedly told investigators that she is the source of the messages and that they are not authentic. She has also handed her personal mobile phones to police, which — along with all other digital files — were sent to Europol yesterday under the Cabinet decision.
‘Results will not be disputed’
Police spokesperson Vyronas Vyronos, speaking to the Cyprus News Agency yesterday, said the evidence collected was being sent to Europol for scientific examination. “Europol is an independent European agency. We believe the results of the examination of these files will not be disputed, whatever they may be,” he said.
Asked whether “Sandy” had been called to testify or had given a statement, Vyronos cited the need to protect the investigation and declined to comment. He said the investigation was ongoing and that a number of statements had already been taken, adding that additional witnesses could be called if deemed necessary.
“All evidence is being evaluated and studied. If necessary, additional statements will be taken from any person who can provide relevant information,” he said.
Vyronos said no timeline could be set for the completion of Europol’s forensic examination, rejected suggestions of delays or leaks, and said the public would be updated when results were received.
The investigative team, initially made up of three members, has reportedly been expanded.
