Three testify in Avakoum case over lost money

Three prosecution witnesses in the Avakoum monastery fraud trial testified on Monday, saying that the monastery had either taken amounts from them without issuing receipts or owned them thousands of euros. Beekeeper Menelaos Philippou and painter Charalambos Kekkos said the monastery owed them approximately €2,500 and €15,000 each, while disability benefit recipient Costas Petsas said he had donated €6,000 to the monastery without ever being issued a receipt. On trial are monks Nektarios and Porfyrios. They face charges including conspiracy to defraud, forgery and the use of false documents, theft by proxy, handling stolen goods, money laundering, interfering with judicial proceedings and submitting fraudulent tax returns. Both have pleaded not guilty. Related Articles • Witness says Avakoum monk’s ‘religious trances’ were ‘pure theatre’ • Avakoum monks’ lawyers play down witness’s abuse claims • Avakoum witness challenged over sexual harassment claims • Avakoum monk ‘pretended to be Saint Porphyrios in confessions’ • Avakoum trial hears donors’ claims over chandelier and icon that never materialised • Monks’ objection rejected as trial continues The case came to light after authorities discovered €800,000 in cash and uncovered alleged fake miracles and CCTV footage of prohibited sexual acts. Philippou said he had decided to support the monastery by supplying free honey which the monastery could then sell. In 2021, he donated 300 jars of honey without a label so that the monastery could use its own and then donated another 200 jars. Each jar was being sold by the monastery for €10, the witness said. He added that he started issuing invoices in 2023 for the honey he delivered to the monastery, raising the number of jars to cover the previous two years of free honey. Philippou claimed the monastery owed him nearly €2,500, however Tamasos bishop Isaias said he could not pay him until the trial was over. During his cross examination by defence lawyer Kostis Efstathiou, the witness said the invoices were his own initiative and did not reflect the real date of delivery or the real price of the honey. Kekkos testified that he had carried out work worth tens of thousands of euros, initially at monk Nektarios’ mother’s house and later on at the monastery, which he concluded in 2024. The witness said the monastery owed him nearly €15,000. When he turned to the Tamasos bishopric to be paid, he was referred to Nektarios. Kekkos furthermore said he had sued the Tamasos bishopric for the return of the VAT he had paid. Testifying before the court, Petsas said he had donated €6,000 to the monastery. “In early 2022, father Nektarios asked me to help the monastery financially. He spoke of an amount of €5,000 or €6,000, saying I would receive an icon as a gift. I gathered some money from relatives and friends and took €4,000 retroactively from the government,” he said. Kekkos said that when he gathered €6,000 they arranged a meeting. “I handed over the amount in cash without them giving me a receipt. I placed it in an envelope and gave it to someone called Andreas who was with father Timotheos,” he said. The witness added that if he made the donation, his name would be inscribed as a benefactor and he would be given a large icon as a gift. The next hearings have been set for October 5 and 7 at 9.30am. Υπενθυμίζεται ότι βασικοί κατηγορούμενοι στην υπόθεση είναι οι καθαιρεθέντες μοναχοί Νεκτάριος και Πορφύριος. Μεταξύ άλλων, αντιμετωπίζουν κατηγορίες για συνωμοσία προς καταδολίευση, πλαστογραφία και χρήση πλαστών εγγράφων, κλοπή από αντιπρόσωπο, παράνομη κατοχή περιουσίας, νομιμοποίηση εσόδων από παράνομες δραστηριότητες, παρέμβαση σε δικαστική διαδικασία και υποβολή ψευδούς φορολογικής δήλωσης.