NICOSIA — An independent investigator in Cyprus announced Monday that a secretly recorded video claiming to expose corruption among government figures may have actually been part of a coordinated effort to damage the Cypriot state — and that none of the people shown in the footage did anything improper.
The video, which surfaced on social media on January 8, was filmed without the subjects’ knowledge. It showed a Cypriot official, a former energy minister, and a businessman in conversation with individuals who were posing as potential investors. The discussion touched on possible investments and political donations, and two of the people featured implied they had connections to the highest levels of government.
All three individuals denied any wrongdoing. However, the official — identified as Charalambos Charalambous — stepped down from his position as a senior aide to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides after the footage became public.
In April, Black Cube — a private intelligence firm founded by former members of Israeli intelligence — acknowledged its involvement in producing the video, though it declined to name the client who commissioned it.
The office of Andreas Paschalides, appointed by the state to lead an independent review of the matter, released a statement Monday concluding: “As things currently stand, one can reasonably conclude this video was a form of hybrid attack to harm the Cypriot state.”
The investigator’s office characterized the statements made in the video as “empty talk and bluster.” A hybrid attack refers to a coordinated influence operation that relies on deceptive tactics — such as misleading information or staged content — to manipulate public opinion and damage a target.
Cypriot investigators said they have offered immunity from prosecution to those who participated in making the video, but the search for whoever commissioned the operation will continue. The Cyprus attorney general will review the findings and determine whether further legal steps are needed.
Black Cube, which maintains that it operates within the law, pushed back against the investigator’s conclusions. In an emailed statement, the company said it “stands firmly behind its evidence uncovering corruption in Cyprus” and added that “the authenticity of the evidence was verified by Cypriot authorities.”
The investigator addressed the authenticity question directly, noting that approximately 26 hours of original footage obtained during the inquiry was genuine. However, the eight-minute version that was posted on social media was described as “not authentic since it was edited.”
Black Cube said it “awaits the final assessment of the attorney general’s office and is confident it will bring those responsible to justice and facilitate a cleaner business environment.”
Two opposition parties — the Communist AKEL and the centrist ALMA — sharply criticized Paschalides’ findings, calling the conclusion a whitewash. AKEL stated that the ruling “trivialises institutional collusion.”
The video’s release came just days after Cyprus took over the rotating six-month presidency of the European Union on January 1. Its emergence reignited scrutiny of business practices in Cyprus, a country that has spent years trying to distance itself from a reputation as a destination for secretive foreign money.
