President Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday reiterated that the deputy attorney-general has not submitted his resignation as rumours continued to swirl that the law enforcement official had wanted to quit but was persuaded not to.

The president was questioned about persistent media reports that deputy AG Savvas Angelides had offered to resign during a meeting with Christodoulides last week.

A day earlier, the deputy government spokesman confirmed the meeting had taken place, but insisted there was no formal letter of resignation.

“It was a discussion on a human level, where Mr Angelides posed some concerns. He had posed similar concerns in the past,” he said.

Fresh reports on Tuesday said Angelides did see Christodoulides at the presidential palace last week, where the president and two ministers convinced the deputy AG to stay on.

Angelides is said to be concerned over his personal safety and that of his family – having allegedly received threats, or been made aware of threats or plans to harm him, apparently initiated by a prison convict.

The official had reportedly complained in the past about these threats, but had apparently received assurances that the matter would be taken care of.

Pressed by journalists, Christodoulides declined to comment on the speculation, saying only that Angelides did not resign.

Meanwhile media reports suggested that Angelides is also feeling the heat as he is the subject of ongoing investigations by the anti-corruption authority.

Over the two previous days, politicians and media outlets called on the authority to come clean on what it is investigating. Opposition MPs also urged the president to convene a meeting with the justice minister and the anti-corruption authority to ‘clear the air’.

Asked if he might call such a meeting, Christodoulides suggested it would be pointless.

“If I do, I will get accused of interfering with the work of independent authorities,” he said, alluding to the anti-corruption authority, an independent body.

“And if I don’t, they’ll accuse me for not doing so. I don’t mind, let them accuse me, we are after all in the midst of an election campaign.”

The anti-corruption authority itself released a statement but did not address what it is investigating in relation to the deputy AG.

The authority dismissed the media reports doing the rounds as “rumours, which in some cases are withdrawn and replaced by other rumours”.

It said that since the affected people themselves – likely meaning Angelides – have not made public remarks, it would refrain from commenting.

The authority also cited the regulations governing its functioning, noting that “not all actions undertaken have to be publicised”.

Also on Tuesday, daily Politis claimed the deputy AG is the subject of four separate complaints being looked at by the anti-corruption authority.

The first is the case of the ‘spy van’ that broke out in 2019. Indictments were filed, but in November 2021 the attorney-general’s office dropped all charges against three individuals – one of whom was Tal Dilian, the Israeli CEO of WiSpear Systems Limited, the company that owned the van.

At the time of dropping the charges, as deputy AG Angelides was in charge of criminal prosecutions.

Angelides was appointed deputy AG in June 2020. Prior to that, he had served as defence minister for a period of two years under the administration of Nicos Anastasiades.

According to Politis, a complaint has been submitted to the anti-corruption authority regarding alleged business ties between Angelides and associates of Dilian.

The paper also spoke of information that these ties involved the setting up of a company, registered by the law firm where Angelides had previously been a partner. Angelides left the law firm on being appointed defence minister in 2018.

The deputy AG has categorically rejected any relationship with Dilian, attributing such allegations to a smear campaign against him.

Another case before the anti-corruption authority, and allegedly involving Angelides, concerns the ‘golden passports’.

Here, the person filing the complaint is Akel MP Christos Christofides.

Allegedly, Angelides failed to declare his connection to a Nicosia-based law firm which had promoted applications for Cypriot citizenship on behalf of foreign nationals.

The cabinet had the final say in approving or denying these applications. As a member of the cabinet at the time, Angelides is therefore said to have had a conflict of interest.

A third case against Angelides involves two successive wealth declarations he submitted to parliament, as required by law. The allegation is that the declarations were fraudulent, as they omitted to mention the acquisition of a company.

This complaint was filed anonymously, but is backed up by evidence, Politis said.