After 20 months of investigation, Greek police revealed another scam against the Greek state. An international demining Non Governmental Organization (NGO) received about 9 million euros from the Greek State from 2000 to 2004, to finance alleged demining programs in third countries. The money came from funds of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Athens-based NGO, International Mine Initiative, had undertaken to clear minefields in Bosnia, Lebanon and Iraq from 2000 to 2004 with funding from the Directorate General of International Development Cooperation-Hellenic Aid of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, a police investigation revealed that the money was illegally obtained as the NGO didn’t meet several official funding conditions in order to receive such a sum from the Greek state.
Via fake donations and with the help of diplomats and civil servants who were filing the required paperwork, everything seemed to be legitimate and that the demining programs were running smoothly. Instead, the states money was used to cover the personal expenses of the NGO’s Head and his wife as well as other irrelevant expenses of the organization.
The NGO’s head, journalist Kostas Tzevelekos, has been held in custody on felony charges after his official statement to the Magistrate. A European Arrest Warrant and an Interpol Red Notice had been issued for his arrest, but subsequently he decided to come forward instead. In the scam are also implicated Tzevelekos’ wife, retired employee of the Ministry of Tourism and of the Ministry of Development, along with three diplomats and three retired civil servants.
The Greek authorities have been investigating the fraud case for more than 20 months. They investigated official paperwork and data of more than 20,000 pages and conducted several house raids in order to find proof of the NGO’s illegal activities. Among their findings were official progress reports of demining programs, other official papers, usb drivers, credit cards and a handgun.
Each of the accused members was charged with fraud, complicity, money laundering and false attestation against the Greek state. Apart from the detention of Tzevelekos, the other defendants are all being prosecuted.
However, the police said the investigation is still in progress as they are in search of additional evidence or people implicated in the case.
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