NEWS

Probe into Russian money flows to Mt Athos monks

Probe into Russian money flows to Mt Athos monks

The Anti-Money Laundering Authority is investigating over 20 cases of suspicious transfers of significant amounts to the bank accounts of Mount Athos monasteries, as well as individual monks.

Kathimerini has been told that the majority of the cases under investigation concern money coming from Russia and that the monasteries happened to have been visited by high-ranking Russian officials fairly recently. The transfers concern amounts ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of euros and, in one case, over a million.

A working hypothesis among investigators is that Russian citizens are siphoning their money abroad to safeguard against the likelihood of an economic collapse or a possible appropriation by the Russian government. Although Russia’s economy has so far fared better than expected in the face of sanctions, many feel the future is highly uncertain.

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