Former Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades rejects corruption allegations

Former Cyprus’ President Nicos Anastasiades labeled an official anti-graft report a flawed "smear campaign" and demanded a fresh criminal investigation to clear his name.

Former Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades fiercely pushed back against sweeping corruption allegations on Wednesday, declaring himself the victim of "kangaroo courts" and challenging the public to decide whether the country is governed by the "rule of law or the rule of the internet."

In a comprehensive rebuttal delivered at a press conference Tuesday, Anastasiades addressed the anti-graft probe that recently forwarded its findings to the attorney general for potential criminal charges. Denouncing the report, he demanded the immediate appointment of an independent criminal investigator to clear his name.

The former president’s fiery defense directly targets the conclusions of the country’s Anti-Corruption Authority, which OCCRP and other international outlets reported on last week. While the watchdog identified potential "abuse of power" and influence-trading involving Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev, Anastasiades argued the inquiry’s findings were arbitrary and legally flawed.

In a direct challenge to the premise of the probe, Anastasiades accused the authority of unfairly basing its findings on a civil standard—the "balance of probabilities"—rather than the strict criminal standard of proof "beyond a reasonable doubt." Furthermore, he asserted that the core claims originating from the bombshell book Mafia State, which initially sparked the investigation, had "collapsed as unfounded."

Anastasiades maintained that investigators wrongfully denied him the chance to formally respond to the specific allegations before issuing their report. Rejecting any illicit connection to Rybolovlev, he pointed out that legislation favorable to the billionaire was overwhelmingly approved by the Cypriot parliament, rather than enacted through corrupt presidential fiat.

The path to potential prosecution shifted Tuesday when the Prosecutorial Council transmitted the findings directly to the police and Cabinet, bypassing top prosecutors. The move followed the recusal of Attorney General George Savvides and Deputy Attorney General Savvas Angelides—both appointed to their current roles by Anastasiades after serving in his cabinet.

The Cabinet has already indicated it will appoint independent criminal investigators to oversee the case.