Cypriot police executed a court-issued search warrant at the home and office of lawyer Nikos Clerides on Holy Saturday morning, seizing devices as part of the investigation into allegations made by journalist and researcher Makarios Drousiotis. Hours later, Drousiotis published on YouTube four audio recordings he says contain conversations involving the woman at the centre of the case, known as Sandy, as well as a screenshot of an SMS exchange he claims relates to her alleged employment at the presidential office.
The police issued a statement confirming they had secured a judicial search warrant for the home and office of a person connected to the case, without naming Clerides, stating that the warrant was sought "in the context of investigating the claims of Makarios Drousiotis" and that the investigative team established for the case "continues its inquiries."
The search and its timing
Christos Clerides, lawyer and cousin of Nikos Clerides, reacted sharply to the search, telling Sigmalive it amounted to intimidation and was timed deliberately to prevent any legal challenge. He said the warrant was issued by the Nicosia District Court at 1am, noting that its execution on Holy Saturday, during a period when courts are closed for the Easter holidays until Tuesday, made it impossible to file an urgent application to the Supreme Court to contest it. "The government had warned that two individuals would be left exposed, implying Nikos Clerides and Drousiotis," he said. "They had clearly intended to do this for some time but chose this procedure."
In a full statement, Christos Clerides said the search constituted "an unprecedented violation of legal professional privilege" based on what he described as a false sworn declaration, and characterised it as an act of intimidation. He said that beyond the home and vehicle of Nikos Clerides, his mobile phone was also seized, which he described as unlawful. He added that police then took Nikos Clerides to his law office to carry out further seizures of electronic material and devices. He said Nikos Clerides signed a declaration under protest stating he had been compelled to comply with what he called an unlawful and unconstitutional order that violated legal professional privilege and the confidentiality of communications. Christos Clerides said his client had asked whether the same procedure had been applied to Michalakis Christodoulou and to Sandy, as well as to others named in the electronic messages, and received no answer. He said he was formally contesting the procedure, questioning both the failure to appoint dedicated criminal investigators and the validity of the steps taken.
The audio recordings
Drousiotis published four audio recordings on YouTube over the course of Holy Friday and Holy Saturday. According to the descriptions he attached to each, the recordings purport to be conversations involving Sandy. The first, titled 'Wiretapping,' is described as an account of why she decided to access someone's phone and download messages. The second, titled 'Rape and Suicide,' is described as Sandy speaking about an alleged rape she suffered at the age of 13, the suicide of a wife and of her father. The third, titled 'Files,' is described as Sandy handing over messages for journalistic investigation into corruption. The fourth, titled "Rigged Trials, Syllouris and Papadakis". Politis has not independently verified the authenticity of these recordings.
Separately, Drousiotis published a screenshot of an SMS exchange which he said concerned Sandy's alleged employment at the presidential office, posting alongside it the claim that "they want to destroy the evidence of Sandy's hiring at the presidential palace." The post appeared shortly after news broke of the police search at Nikos Clerides's home.
Drousiotis has further accused the presidential office, the Law Office of the Republic and the police of attempting to cover up the Sandy case in a new social media post, in which he also claims that a case is being constructed against him and lawyer Nikos Clerides. He accompanied the post with the 34-page statement he gave to police several days ago, and set out his reasons for arguing that Europol is not the appropriate body to investigate the matter.
'The dark face of the Mafia State at the presidential palace'
The full text of Drousiotis's post is as follows:
"Awaiting the police, I am publishing the following:
The dark face of the Mafia State at the presidential palace.
Immediately after I published a summary of my investigation into the penetration of corruption into the judiciary, an attempt began by the presidential office, the Law Office and the police to cover up serious criminal offences.
Instead of protecting the key witness, as I formally requested immediately after her name was disclosed by the main suspect, and instead of seizing evidence and testimony material to protect the investigation, as would befit a state governed by the rule of law, they led her to deny everything, confirming that the rules of the Mafia State apply.
Christodoulides was publicly assuring everyone that an investigation would take place, while behind the scenes he appears to have been devising cover-up plans. The official position is that the messages are fabricated, and the instructions to the police appear to be to document this position once again, that is, to construct a case against me and against Nikos Clerides, rather than to investigate the shocking disclosures I have made.
In order to lend credibility to the cover-up conspiracy, they remembered Europol, dragging European agencies into their scheming. Europol does not have independent European police officers; it is a coordination mechanism among member states for combating cross-border crime. The head of the Cypriot liaison office at Europol's headquarters in The Hague is Georgios Karkas, who is among the police officers who took legal action against me during the Anastasiades presidency. At the relevant time, Karkas was serving in the cybercrime unit of the Cyprus Police, which is referenced in the messages of Michalakis Christodoulou. 'I spoke to my contact in cybercrime to check it for you and see if it is clean and to install a programme so no one can hack it,' he wrote in a message. We do not know what was sent to Europol or to whom. What is certain is that they are desperately searching for ways to characterise the messages as fabricated.
At the same time, a number of willing scribblers have taken on the dirty work in social media and the press, preparing the ground even for my arrest on charges of spreading false news. Messages from reliable sources with contacts inside the power system are warning me to prepare for imminent arrest.
EVERYTHING I stated in my publications is based on real, non-fabricated material and on serious, multi-year investigation. The information that the police are channelling to the media is largely false, forming part of an organised disinformation campaign aimed at covering up this enormous scandal. Instead of pursuing corruption, they are pursuing those who expose it. That is the definition of the Mafia State, which Christodoulides inherited from Anastasiades and manages in exactly the same way as his predecessor.
The only defence against these anti-democratic phenomena is the reaction of society, which must be informed of the real facts. I am publishing my full statement to the police together with all the evidence, so that everyone can read it and judge for themselves whether these messages are forged and my publication unsubstantiated, or whether it is Christodoulides's assurances that the case will be investigated that are false.
As I state in my police statement, my investigation, which lasted three years, was not limited to the messages alone but extended in various directions for the purposes of further documentation. Among my sources was a lengthy recorded conversation between Sandy and a journalist, aimed at making her personal story public and substantiating the corruption and criminal actions of the group that effectively governs our country. The interviews took place before and after her flight to Germany in early 2021, because her life was in danger.
At this link, certain audio files relating to the key facts of the case have been posted. At this other link you can read my full statement to the police and view all the evidence, so you can judge for yourselves who respects the truth and who is attempting to manipulate public opinion."
All of the above reflects the claims and allegations of Makarios Drousiotis. Politis has not independently verified any of the assertions made in his post.
The broader case
The Sandy case has dominated Cypriot public life for several days. Drousiotis has published allegations, based on a large volume of digital messages, of a network involving corruption among political, judicial and financial figures, including claims that a former supreme court judge raped Sandy when she was a minor. All individuals named in the allegations have denied them. The government has categorically rejected the claim that Sandy was employed at the presidential office. President Nikos Christodoulides has said the allegations will be investigated fully, while Drousiotis has disputed the independence of the process, arguing that the investigation is being conducted by the same police structures implicated in his allegations and under the oversight of the attorney-general's office, which he also names in his claims.
Digital evidence gathered by Drousiotis, including more than 130 files and a mobile phone attributed to Sandy, has been sent to Europol's cybercrime laboratories for forensic examination following a cabinet decision. The forensic results are expected to be central to determining the direction of the investigation.