Nicosia, Cyprus. A German television excerpt was heard in the background of an audio recording involving ‘Sandy’, who is at the centre of allegations made by journalist Makarios Drousiotis against several high-profile figures. Alpha reported that forensic analyst Alexis Mavros identified the origin of the audio.
Arte documentary identified as source
Alpha reported on Wednesday that Mavros found the German voice to be from a 2019 documentary aired on German television channel Arte, focusing on economic hardship in Venezuela. In the excerpt, the narrator said that “Venezuelans have come to terms with the restrictions and supply shortages” and that “at first, they thought it would be temporary, but they have become a permanent part of their lives”.
Contrasting account published by Documento
The identification of the source as a documentary was reported as contradicting an account by journalist Stelios Orphanides on news website Documento. Orphanides wrote that the German voice was “an announcement from loudspeakers, most likely at a train station, in German, related to the emergency measures in force at the time due to the pandemic”, and had earlier written that the recording was taken in 2021.
Attribution of findings and prior involvement
Earlier, former Edek MEP Demetris Papadakis enlisted Mavros to examine his mobile phones. While many news websites in Cyprus reported the information on Wednesday, they attributed the findings to Dino Pastos, founder and chief executive officer of Texodus, which lists its billing address as a detached house in the Nicosia suburb of Aglandjia and where he appears to be the sole employee.
Pastos’ earlier claim and Black Cube
Pastos made headlines earlier this year when he suggested that a video alleging campaign finance lawbreaking by President Nikos Christodoulides and his associates may have been produced by Turkish hands, citing the use of the Turkish alphabet in some captions. It was later reported that Israeli private intelligence agency Black Cube was behind the video, and the company told the Cyprus Mail it was “proud” to have produced it.
Which account do you find more credible regarding the origin of the German audio in the recording?