by Emilios Polygenis
There are many indications that political intrigue and other dark purposes are behind the fact that the so-called ‘Vatopaidi scandal’ is kept open. They slander Orthodoxy, the Holy Mountain and even Greece for their own means.
There are many people who still have questions about some issues:
Where are the bribes? Where are the offshore companies that Vatopaidi is supposed to own? Where are the so-called ‘political monies’?
They say it is a crime!!! But normally we pin point the crime and then we find the criminals. Oddly the exact opposite happened here. We found the ‘criminals’ and now they are seeking to find if there was a crime committed!!!
Two years have already passed since the case of Vatopaidi Monastery began; we have already had five committees find fictional elements in favor of Vatopaidi, but bribes and black monies are nonexistent. Now they are focusing on ponds and large lakes. They think they can feed us with the grass, which perhaps grow on the shores of the ponds and the large lakes. You know what I mean!
What have the experts at the investigation committee said so far and why have these been shoved under the carpet?
Have any bribes been given?
Speaking before the Investigation Committee, Mr. Panagiotis Mantouvalos, who is a member of the Committee for the Prevention of the Legalization of Illegal Funds and head of the Fifth Subcommittee for Special Investigations in the Attiki region, was asked whether the investigation had concluded and that there is indeed the possibility that Vatopaidi had actually handed out bribes. He said: “There is no such find”.
Offshore Companies of the Monastery
Truthfully, where are the so called offshore companies that Vatopaidi is supposed to own? Asked about these famous offshore companies, Mr. Mantouvalos clarifies that the companies which Vatopaidi owned are not offshore but Cypriot companies. “They are not offshore”, he said. But we must clarify here, that the Monastery did not own a share in these companies.
Then Mr. Mantouvalos declared that all monies administered by the Monastery are clean. “By studying the facts of this report, I declare that the origin of the monies is known”. And "if the monies are directed towards private companies owned by individuals, with whom the Monastery is indirectly involved, there is no prohibition in this”.
Therefore, there are neither offshore companies owned nor “black monies” trafficked by this Athonite Monastery. By the way, the Monastery is and has been under the scrutiny of all the other Athonite Monasteries for every case even before this broke out. All the faithful and the whole of Church has recognized that this Brotherhood has a long history and spiritual tradition, and so it will remain. It simply shows this is a persecution which is not unknown in Tradition and by the Fathers of the Church.
It must be mentioned that according to the finds of the investigation committee, neither Abbot Ephraim, nor Monk Arsenios, have any personal bank accounts.
Let’s also not forget what the Abbot of Vatopaidi has publicly told the TV program ”Fakelloi” presented by Mr. Papahelas: “If you find one single Euro in my pocket or in any bank account, I will personally lock myself up in a prison cell for the rest of my life”.
Monk Arsenios had also stressed to the investigation committee: “If you find even a single Euro in my personal account since I became a monk on Mount Athos, I will honestly find my way to a prison cell tomorrow morning”.
Political Monies!
Some political parties are still shoving under the carpet the so called “political monies” issue! While all know the truth and talk about it among themselves, they still keep this issue open.
How could they suppose that what they do among themselves and between various companies is done by Athonite Monasteries? The odd thing is that most of them have visited Vatopaidi and Mount Athos and are acquainted with the genuineness of the Brotherhood and they probably recognize that all these scenarios which have been woven around Vatopaidi go well beyond fantasy.
Someone from the investigation committee has said: “The important thing is to find the final recipient. What we are interested in is to find if any politician is involved”. Here are the possibilities!
One MP is seeking to find out whether any Anthonite Monastery is dealing with political monies. But Mr. Mantouvalos puts him in his place: “We know who the final recipient is. This is what makes the difference. If these monies had been illegal, 'black monies', and have derived from an illegal activity by the Monastery and did not derive from a loan, then it would have been blocked. However, the origin of the monies is known. It comes from a loan… There is no illegal activity found in this case”.
The specialists have decided that there is nothing reprehensible, nothing illegal, no bribes, and no offshore companies; it is "a voice crying in the wilderness".
One wonders then that just because it serves them to keep the case open for their personal reasons, how they dream up infinite scenarios and weave myths for a nonexistent case…!
Source: Romfea.gr