The financial aspect of the scandal surrounding the Osiou Avakoum monastery is the most complex one, the attorney-general said on Monday. George Savvides was answering questions about the progress in the investigations. He said the ongoing police probe has been divided up into various departments, with each department overseen by a criminal investigator.
To date, the attorney-general’s office has conferred twice with the investigators for an update on the course of the investigations; a third meeting is planned for the end of the month. But asked to assess when the investigations might wrap up, Savvides said he could not give even a tentative date. He said only that certain aspects of the case are more “advanced” than others. The hardest aspect is the financial one, although here too progress is being made.
Monks Under Scrutiny
Two of the monks under investigation, Nektarios and Porfirios, were allegedly found with €800,000 in cash, and property in Greece and Limassol. They were also reportedly caught on CCTV footage having sex with each other. Additionally, a video showed a monk beating a woman who worked as a cleaner at the monastery. The monks have denied all charges, claiming the accusations are part of a conspiracy against them.
In the meantime, and parallel to the police probe, the Holy Synod has initiated an ecclesiastical trial. On how the church proceedings might affect the police probe, the attorney-general said they would not. “The state has its own laws and principles,” said Savvides. “The police are investigating, and our decisions will be based on the material presented by these investigations.”
Legal Crossroads
On another topic, the top law enforcement official declined comment when asked about the upcoming interim ruling by the supreme constitutional court, set to decide whether to admit as valid an application filed by the attorney-general’s office to have auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides removed from office on the grounds of “conduct unbecoming”. The court is set to issue its ruling on Wednesday. Should it find the attorney-general’s application invalid, the case would end there. Otherwise, a trial will take place on the substance of the case.
