The case file for the 68-year-old Greek priest (archimandrite) from Thessaloniki and the 61-year-old former de-frocked priest, who are accused a €1.3 million fraud as reported yesterday by Greek City Times, is in the hands of a prosecutor.
The voluminous case file, which was compiled by Thessaloniki Police and includes at least two other persons, aged 51 and 34, has been assigned to a prosecutor for processing. The preliminary police investigation concluded that the two men committed offences of criminal organisation, fraud, forgery, and money laundering.
According to what has been made known, the case file includes complaints from at least six alleged victims, over a period of five years, from November 2018 to February 2023. As they stated in their depositions, the archimandrite and the former monk (who was defrocked) asked them for money, falsely convincing them that the 68-year-old's rise to Metropolitan of Thessaloniki was certain.
In fact, to make themselves convincing, they showed them forged letters, which were drafted by the 61-year-old defrocked priest, in which religious organizations and government agencies, such as the Archdiocese of Athens, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Ministry of Finance, and even the Presidency of the Republic, appeared as senders/writers.
The gullible donors were supposedly going to get their money back, while they would also benefit when the archimandrite took over as Metropolitan, by allegedly participating in the management of the reserves and properties of the Metropolis of Thessaloniki, in the supplies, the soup kitchens, etc.
Investigating the flow of money, the prosecuting authorities seem to have found that the "sacred" donations were transferred to accounts of the 68-year-old cleric's associates and that part of them was spent on the purchase of luxury cars and an apartment. One vehicle has already been seized, as well as laptops and storage devices (usb), bank deposit books, handwritten notes, and various letters.
(Source: AMNA)
