A video sting produced by an Israeli private intelligence firm that said it exposed corruption in Cyprus may have been part of a hybrid attack targeting the Cypriot state, and none of those filmed did anything wrong, an independent investigator has said.
The secretly shot video, released on social media on January 8, showed a Cypriot official, a former energy minister and a businessman talking about potential investments and political donations with people posing as investors. Two of those featured suggested having direct access to upper echelons of government.
All three denied wrongdoing but the official, Charalambos Charalambous, resigned as a senior aide to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides after the video’s release.
Black Cube, a private intelligence company founded by former members of Israeli intelligence, said in April it had been involved in producing the video but did not identify its client.
The office of Andreas Paschalides, who was appointed by the state to lead an independent investigation, said in a statement: “As things currently stand, one can reasonably conclude this video was a form of hybrid attack to harm the Cypriot state.”
