The social support body never received any donations in cash, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said on Friday, as the government continues to face criticism over a video widely shared on social media last week linking it to alleged campaign finance violations on the part of President Nikos Christodoulides and his associates.

“The accountant-general, the auditor-general, and the central bank are involved in the matter of the institution. I spoke with them and they told me that no cash was ever deposited,” he told television channel Ant1.

It had been alleged in the video that cash donations to the body, which was initially set up to offer financial assistance to disadvantaged students, were used to circumvent campaign finance laws and curry favour with the government.

However, Keravnos denied that this was the case, saying that while “some people may disagree with President Christodoulides’ policies, or may not like his handling of things”, he believes Christodoulides did no wrong regarding the social support body.

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“As for the clean hands of this president of the republic, I think there is no indication that anyone can accuse the president of bribery or similar things,” he said.

Instead, he said, “the government reacted immediately and rationally”.

“There were resignations and removals, and President Christodoulides immediately referred the matter to the competent authorities for investigation,” he said.

On the matter of the body itself, he said he has “no problem” if it is decided to change the way in which it operates, but expressed reservations with Akel leader Stefanos Stefanou’s suggestion that its responsibilities be transferred to the state scholarships foundation.

“The role of the state scholarships foundation is different, because this body gives scholarships to excellent students, while the social support body is an initiative to support students who are mainly facing financial problems,” he said.

As such, he said, “all of this should be discussed, weighed, and the best possible thing should be done for these children”.

The body had first been established in 2014 and was placed under the wing of then first lady Andri Anastasiades, before being passed on to First Lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides when her husband became president in 2023.

However, in light of the publication of the video, the incumbent first lady resigned from her role on Sunday, with her husband saying on Monday that he was minded to completely abolish the body after the video came to light.

“I want to share with you that my first thought is to completely abolish the body. I hear some ideas to transfer it to the state scholarships foundation,” he told reporters.

The following day, the body’s management committee implored her to reconsider, arguing that her resignation “will negatively affect the continuation of the body’s work”.

However, she remained resolute in her decision, thanking the committee but telling it that her decision was “irrevocable”.

As such, the committee decided to recommend to Social Security Minister Mousiouttas that he inform cabinet of its future decisions, stating that “any decision taken should have as its first objective the smooth continuation of the process of examining and completing the applications for the current academic year”.

Secondly, it asked for “assurances that any reserve [of money] will continue to be made available exclusively to students who meet the existing criteria” for financial assistance.

It also asked for Mousiouttas to “guarantee that none of the beneficiary students will be left helpless and will not be deprived of higher education”.

Additionally, it said it will “submit proposals with the aim of continuing the body’s important social work in a way which takes into account all the opinions and concerns which have been expressed to date”.

It later said that that it “categorically denies unfounded allegations which aim to damage the work and the credibility of the body”, and said that every donation it has received had been made through transfers to the central bank.