President Anastasiades Denies Corruption Report

President Nicos Anastasiades denied a report by journalist Andreas Paraschos that he gained financially to the tune of millions of Euros from the 2013 bail-in of depositors during the epic collapse of Marfin Popular Bank and economic crash.

The bail-in led to a number of economic stimulus programmes, including the ill-fated investment-for-passports scheme, aka golden passports. The programme was meant to revive investment in the economy but after widespread abuse, instead led to alleged bribes for state officials. In exchange, people with criminal records received Cypriot passports.

The passport-for-investment scheme was abruptly cancelled by the state after the scandal made worldwide headlines.

Resignation

Mr. Paraschos resigned his position as managing director of Kathimerini and the newspaper said there was no evidence to support his article. The journalist cites sources close to former Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, who heard President Anastasiades talk about money from the passport scheme going to his bank account in the Seychelles in 2019.

“After the categorical denial by the former Prime Minister of Greece Mr. Alexis Tsipras, I would like to call my friend journalist Andreas Paraschos to either substantiate what he unfoundedly stated in his recent article, or to admit that he was a victim of misinformation.”

President Anastasiades.

The president said he was sad to see the attempts to tarnish his good name and that for 40 years he had not exercised his legal rights out of respect to the freedom of the media.

It is indeed best practice to have proof of allegations before printing a story, even if a journalist is protecting a source. What is disturbing in this case is that it appears that Mr. Paraschos was forced out of his job because the newspaper could have simply printed a retraction and apologised for getting it wrong.

As it stands, the loss of the journalist’s job and the newspaper’s refusal to support their own writers amounts to self-censorship.

Mr. Paraschos told the Legal Matters podcast (in Greek) that he had no problem retracting the story if it was wrong but maintains that his source near Alexis Tsipras told him the information. What forced his resignation was that the publisher wrote a retraction email to President Anastasiades without his permission or input, he said.

We’ve reached out the Andreas Paraschos, who has widespread support from netizens, for his comments.

Restricted liberties and a sinister zeitgeist

Mr. Paraschos’ situation is a red flag for a bigger threat to press freedom.

In recent months, there have been ominous attempts from members of the president’s administration to suppress news stories, certain civil liberties and freedom of expression.

In a big-brother-is-watching you move, Justice Minister Yiolitis used her state power to persecute someone she believed to be responsible for a satirical Twitter account. Acting on Ms Yiolitis complaint, the police raided the home of a Larnaca resident, who denied any involvement. Actions like these are a nuisance and have a chilling effect on the media’s freedom of expression.

In addition, the right to gather in peaceful protest has been suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic measures. People are clearly not happy to feel they are not allowed to make their voices heard and instead vent their frustrations on social media.

First debt hunger striker ignored

In a story covered by CyprusNewsReport.com but few other media, debt hunger striker Maria Karaoli’s story was completely ignored by all the mainstream channels even though she was literally camped outside the Presidential Palace for three weeks before being hospitalised.

President Anastasiades’ office did not attempt to contact her once, according to Mrs. Karaoli. Considering she was the first-ever debt hunger striker in Cyprus’ history, this is surprising and highly unusual because you can take it from this reporter - that was a story.

Golden passports

On top of these incidents, the cash-for-passports scandal reported earlier by Al Jazeera has spread a negative impression over the House of Representatives and triggered House Speaker Dimitris Syllouris’ resignation. The speaker allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for citizenship for non-eligible applicants, some with criminal records, leaving a bad taste in everyone’s mouths.

President Anastasiades also came under fire for the scandal and sought to distance himself from the ringleaders by launching an independent investigation in addition to an ongoing criminal investigation. The independent inquiry confirmed that the passports-for-investment programme was abused.

The whole affair raised MP Nicolas Papadopoulos’ ire and he demanded that the details of the investigation be handed over to Auditor-General Odysseas Michaelides, in spite of the fact that a criminal investigation would normally fall under the attorney-general’s jurisdiction.

Kathimerini’s story comes at a delicate time for the presidency. The criminal investigation into alleged abuse of power and bribery in the golden passports scheme is set for public hearings next week. President Anastasiades and Archbishop Chrysostomos II are expected to be deposed.

The sour political atmosphere is not helped by upcoming parliamentary elections in May as the political parties gather ammunition for the usual bouts of mud-slinging and name-calling.

Bad mood

Adding to the pressure on President Anastasiades’ government is the fact that people are already upset and afraid because of the pandemic and are not willing to turn a blind eye as their trust in the Cabinet and House of Representatives wanes.

Above all, public debate needs to keep going, and that means a free press.

“Suppression of the freedom of press and freedom of expression is not a sign of power. It is a sign of profound weakness and will not be tolerated.”

Sarah Fenwick