AKEL Demands Dismissal of Presidency Aide, Abolition of First Lady’s Fund

In a statement on Friday, AKEL General Secretary Stefanos Stefanou said the president “remains personally exposed” and described the issue as “personal, ethical and deeply political.”

Stefanou said the matter concerns “institutional corruption which is magnified by the government’s response showing it has diminished moral stature.”

The party said it will act as a bulwark and lead efforts to ensure transparency and accountability on the matter.

AKEL called on the Attorney General, Anti-Corruption Authority and prosecution authorities to proceed ex officio with an investigation and “rise to the occasion,” requesting that ample light be shed on a case with many ramifications and aspects.

Stefanou said that even if the video is malicious and represents a hybrid war against the government and Cyprus, “the authenticity of what’s said is not disputed.” He noted that the government’s belated first reaction did not dispute the authenticity of what was said.

According to AKEL, the video shows the director of the president’s office, who is also the president’s brother-in-law, appearing to describe practices for government horse-trading with business interests in exchange for favours and services. The video shows a mechanism operating at the Presidential Palace for funding and for processing these services, the party said.

AKEL said the video references cash funding to bypass the €1 million limit provided by law in elections, and practices to bypass EU sanctions against Russia to serve oligarchs.

The party said the video shows George Lakkotrypis, “an extra-institutional figure” who served as minister in the previous government playing a mediator role for serving interests whilst having a direct and special relationship with the president.

Stefanou said it is obvious that practices followed by the previous government, where Christodoulides served as a key figure, continue in his own government.

As immediate reactions, AKEL demanded the dismissal of President’s Office Director Charalambos Charalambous and his removal from the Presidential Palace as a minimal assumption of political responsibility by the president. The party said Charalambous’s continued presence insults the institution of the president.

Regarding the first lady’s fund, AKEL demanded its abolition after donors are made public. The party has a longstanding position calling for the fund’s abolition and transfer of responsibilities elsewhere, such as to the Cyprus State Scholarships Foundation.

The Supreme Constitutional Court unanimously struck down a law last year that would have required disclosure of donors to the fund, ruling it violated constitutional privacy protections. The law, passed by parliament in September and proposed by DISY MP Nikos Georgiou, would have required publishing the names of individuals and legal entities donating more than €5,000 by posting a list on the fund’s website. The legislation followed controversy over limited transparency regarding the fund’s donors and allegations that some benefactors received preferential treatment during former President Nicos Anastasiades’s administration.

Stefanou called the fund “notorious” because major discussions occurred inside and outside parliament regarding the transparency needed for donors and fund management. He said AKEL raised these issues intensely and continues to do so because they concern transparency and accountability.

Finally, AKEL called on parties that support and participate in the government to take a clear position on whether they separate themselves from government practices that insult the country’s political life and the country itself.

Source: In-Cyprus