Third finding from Money Laundering Authority on the Catholic Church: The Bishop of Syros sent €3 million to shady entrepreneurs

The Bishop of Syros and Catholic priests are involved in a serious financial corruption scandal, as 3 million euros from the coffers of the Catholic Church of Greece allegedly ended up in the accounts of nightclub entrepreneurs in Achaia.

Two high-ranking Catholic priests are targeted, as well as six businessmen, one of whom has a criminal record for blackmailing an Orthodox Metropolitan.

The investigation by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority, under the president and former deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court Charalambos Vourliotis, led to the freezing of the bank accounts of those involved, with the case being investigated by the Prosecutor's Office of Syros.

The businessmen are said to have received large sums of money through underground routes, coming from the coffers of four Catholic Church institutions in Greece.

These institutions are under the guidance of two high-ranking Catholic priests, one of whom is of Polish origin.

It is noted, however, that Mr. Vourliotis' order does not include the freezing of the bank accounts of the Catholic Church's own institutions in Greece.

After the six businessmen's accounts were frozen and the file was forwarded to the Aegean Appeals Prosecutor Odysseus Tsorbatzoglou, Mr. Vourliotis informed the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican in writing about the developments.

The case began to unfold when the Authority received a signal from the banks, which spoke of suspicious transfers of large sums from the coffers of the four institutions of the Catholic Church in Greece to the accounts of nightclub operators in the Achaean capital.

The Authority mobilized immediately, conducting a thorough audit, in order to identify the exact number of people involved in the money laundering case, utilizing all the means provided by the legislation.

With an intensive collection of data, he began the complete mapping of the underground routes of the amounts as well as of the persons involved.

Prostitution, drugs and protection

According to the investigation, around €3 million was directed to nightclubs for various activities, which include prostitution, drugs and protection.

These sums were transferred from specific bank accounts managed by two high-ranking Catholic priests in Greece, and ended up in the accounts of specific nightclub owners, making them appear as investments in such activities. These underground routes had started at least 8 years ago.

The Authority's investigation revealed that the total amount of 3 million euros had been embezzled from the funds of the institutions. The last tranche of 50,000 euros was recently identified, shortly before the completion of the file and the signing of the freezing of the bank accounts by Mr. Vourliotis. However, the investigation concerns the entire amount of money that has allegedly been embezzled.

During the investigation stage, indications emerged of the commission of serious criminal acts, such as those of embezzlement and money laundering.

Following these actions, the Authority took another step, which was the disclosure of the identities of both the two Catholic priests and the entrepreneurs of night centers, as well as the owner of another legal betting outlet.

One of the Catholic priests involved (61 years old) is the Bishop of Syros (Ermoupoli - Milos - Thira) and at the same time apostolic overseer of the Episcopate of Crete based in Chania.

The businessman was blackmailing an Orthodox metropolitan

One of the six businessmen, who is considered the mastermind of the case, was previously convicted of blackmailing an Orthodox Metropolitan, who even died a few days after the businessman's conviction, which adds dark elements to the case.

A second person involved in the ring, but with a smaller role, is the owner of a betting agency, who participated in individual activities of the ring operating in Achaia.

After the President of the Authority forwarded his order and the file that had been created for further proceedings to the Aegean Appeals Prosecutor's Office, Mr. Tsorbatzoglou, who heads the Syros (Ermoupolis) First Instance Prosecutor's Office, ordered the conduct of a criminal preliminary investigation.

As part of this investigation, the six businessmen are invited to appear in the next few days in Syros to give explanations before the investigator.

In the same investigation, the owner of the PROPO agency will be asked to testify, as well as all persons involved in the case during the preliminary investigation stage.

The last to go through the Primary Prosecutor's Office will be the two high-ranking priests of the Catholic Church of Greece, whose role in the case remains under investigation.