Friday, October 25, 2024 - Catholic Church officials in Greece have been accused of sending more than €3m (£2.5m) of embezzled money to be laundered through cafes and nightclubs.
An investigation by Greece's Anti-Money Laundering
Authority, which has uncovered that the Catholic Church's money was used to
fund Greek nightlife, has already frozen the bank accounts and assets of five
nightclub owners in the southern region of Peloponnese.
According to Euronews, the case goes back eight years ago,
when the first unusual transaction to one of the five private individuals,
disguised as an ordinary investment, took place.
The most recent suspected illegal transfer of €50,000
occurred just a few days ago.
The case, which began as a random audit, has been sent to
the chief prosecutor's office for further criminal investigation. The
prosecutor's office is next expected to question the seven over alleged
embezzlement and money laundering and open felony proceedings.
In response to the allegations, the Catholic Church in
Greece said in a statement on Thursday that it was unaware of the two priests'
actions.
"Following today's press reports on embezzlement and
money laundering, we declare that we have no official information on the issue.
Therefore, we are awaiting an update from the relevant authorities so that we
can take an official position on the matter," it said.
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