AKEL leader Stefanos Stefanou on Friday called on President Nicos Christodoulides to dismiss his chief of staff Charalambos Charalambous after a video widely circulated on social media alleging violations of campaign finance laws by Christodoulides, Charalambous and their entourage.
He said his party was “calling for the immediate dismissal of [Charalambous] and his removal from the presidency,” saying it was “a minimal manifestation of political responsibility on the part of the president.”
“Charalambous’ continued presence will offend the institution of the presidency,” he said.
He also stated that the video “raises important political, ethical and other issues concerning the president and his entourage.”
“The President of the Republic remains personally vulnerable. The issue is both personal, moral, and deeply political in nature. [This is] an issue of institutional entanglement and corruption, which is compounded by the manner and content of the government’s response, which shows its reduced moral status,” he said.
Therefore, he called on the “competent institutions” to launch an investigation into the case.
“We call on the Prosecutor General [George Savvides], the anti—corruption service and the prosecutor’s office to prove themselves and demonstrate that they will objectively and decisively resolve emerging issues,” he said.
He then called for light to be shed on the case, which “has many ramifications and aspects that, at best, raise many painful questions about the government and the ethics of its actions.”
Even if we accept that the video is malicious, that a hybrid war is being waged against the government and the Republic of Cyprus, the authenticity of what was said is beyond doubt, he said.
In this regard, he stated that Charalambous “describes the practice of privatizing a government with business interests in exchange for services,” and that the video contains references to cash financing to circumvent the legal limit on campaign financing.
In addition to calling for Charalambous to be relieved of his duties, he called for the abolition of the social support body, the foundation for students from disadvantaged families, run by First Lady Philippa Carcera Christodoulides.
He called the foundation “notorious” and said that its responsibilities should be transferred to the Cyprus State Scholarship Fund, after the video claimed that the foundation was used to accept and conceal donations to Christodoulides.
“Finally, we call on the parties that support and participate in the government to take a clear position. Do they separate their position from the government’s practices, which offend the political life of this country and our country itself, or not? They will have to answer this unshakable question,” he said.
Meanwhile, AKEL MP Irene Charalambides spoke sharply about the video and the government’s reaction to it.
“There is no hybrid war, no Turkish finger on the scales, no Russian finger on the scales. They are to blame. If they hadn’t done this because of corruption, if they hadn’t provided the tools, there would have been nothing to record. Their corruption is to blame,” she wrote in a post on social media.
The video first appeared on the social network X on Thursday, and was shared by an account using the name “EmilyTanalyst” and the name “Emily Thompson.”
At the time the video was posted, the account had fewer than 350 subscribers, but overnight this number grew to more than 950, and the video gained more than 250,000 views.
The video shows close associates of Christodoulides, Charalambous, and former Minister Yorgos Lakkotripis explaining how they used and intended to continue using cash donations to circumvent campaign finance laws.
The Government has repeatedly [denied any нарушения](https://cyprus-mail.com/2026/01/09/govt-repeats-denials-over-christodoulides-donation-video).
https://russiancyprus.news/news/society/the-president-of-the-republic-remains-personally-exposed/
