Revelations emerging in the past 24 hours from the clash between former close associates Odysseas Michaelides and Andreas Chasapopoulos are now under the watch of the Law Office. It is not ruled out that the Attorney-General may intervene ex officio to investigate a possible offence of perjury by Mr Michaelides - provided that Chasapopoulos, as he has publicly committed to do, submits evidence linking the former Auditor-General to the controversial Facebook page “Support Group for the Auditor-General”.
The page, administered by Chasappopoulos, routinely targeted and ridiculed politicians, journalists and public officials who criticised Michaelides during his tenure. It was eventually taken down by Facebook for multiple breaches of its rules, including posts containing death threats.
Afterwards, Chasappopoulos - long considered Michaelides’ “right-hand man” - created a new page titled “Anti-Corruption Group”, where the praise of Michaelides continued along with relentless attacks on those who questioned his conduct. The dynamic shifted only when Chasapopoulos was informed he would not be included on the electoral list of 'Alma', the party founded by Michaelides. The latter cited the 72-year-old’s age as the reason.
For Chasapopoulos, this was a breaking point. He now says he is prepared to give a statement to the Police and submit evidence that the former Auditor-General committed perjury before the Supreme Constitutional Court. He claims Michaelides was not only aware of the page but sent him material attacking politicians and journalists, which he would then upload verbatim.
These claims stand in direct contradiction to the testimony Michaelides gave under oath during the Attorney-General’s petition for his dismissal.
Phone handed to digital experts
Speaking to us yesterday, Chasapopoulos said he has handed his mobile phone to two digital forensic experts to retrieve WhatsApp messages allegedly sent to him by Michaelides for publication on the 'Support Group for the Auditor-General' page.
On the new page he manages, the 'Anti-Corruption Group', he has published an extract of a conversation attributed to 'Odysseas M.', urging him to upload a newspaper gossip column criticising the current Auditor-General, Andreas Papaconstantinou, alongside an accompanying text supposedly written by Michaelides himself. In that text, the author praises himself and describes his successor as “incompetent”, “Christodoulides’ pawn”, and “a feeble little man of the system”.
According to Chasapopoulos, this message was indeed sent by Michaelides and posted on the new page.
‘A campaign to eliminate me politically’
Michaelides, for his part, speaks of a coordinated effort by the establishment to “politically assassinate” him, with Chasapopoulos acting as its ally.
“Mr Chasapopoulos himself, not once but at least twice on recent TV programmes, said clearly that I had nothing to do with his page and that he alone controlled it,” Michaelides said. “Why he is now claiming the exact opposite only he can explain. What I will say is that he was not chosen as a candidate for ‘Alma’, as he wished, and that he then announced his interest in running with Mr Fidias Papanayiotou’s party.
“I know that until the elections they will do everything to destroy me. They won’t succeed. They may have dismissed me, they may slander me, but they will not break my resolve to fight for another Cyprus - one of transparency, meritocracy, integrity and institutional honesty.”
What Michaelides told the court under oath
In his sworn statement before the Supreme Constitutional Court - where the Attorney-General accused him of having knowledge of and involvement in the page - Michaelides offered the following version of events.
He said the 'Support Group for the Auditor-General' page was created around 2018 or 2019 by former Director of Audit Andreas Chasappopoulos, who had retired in 2017. The page initially had few followers and drew little attention. By August 2020 it had roughly 5,000 members, but during the fierce standoff with the government over the 'golden passports' controversy and the prospect of a dismissal request being filed against him, its membership suddenly surged to 50,000.
He added that in December 2020 another Facebook page using his photo and a similar name was created, which still exists with about 1,700 members but attracts little engagement.
Michaelides described Chasappopoulos as “responsible for his own actions”, saying they rarely spoke by phone, were not close friends, and that he could not remember the last time he saw him in person, possibly before the pandemic.
As the page grew, he said, public figures criticised on it would call him assuming he controlled it and asking him to intervene. His consistent answer, he said, was that he had no involvement whatsoever, no control over its symbols or photos, and no say in its content.
He argued that his lack of control was evident from the fact that some posts did not reflect his views, and in some cases he completely disagreed with them.
The condition set by the Deputy AG
In his written statement to the court, Michaelides also referred to a planned meeting with Deputy Attorney-General Savvas Angelides, which ultimately never took place because Angelides demanded that he publicly distance himself from the 'Support Group for the Auditor-General' page as a precondition.
Michaelides recounted that the two had spoken briefly during a meeting at the Ministry of Finance on 21 April 2022 regarding the Health Insurance Organisation. They agreed to meet again, and Michaelides even suggested including the Attorney-General, George Savvides. Later, when they spoke by phone, it became clear that Savvides did not wish to attend. The two therefore agreed to meet alone.
With Easter approaching, Michaelides said he messaged Angelides on 10 May to arrange a date. In his reply, Angelides made the meeting conditional on a public distancing from the Facebook page. Michaelides said he responded that the message made it appear as though he were pleading for a meeting while Angelides was setting terms. As a result, the meeting never happened.