Athens Municipality’s finances come under scrutiny by new administration
The Athens Municipality will be conducting an audit of the authority’s finances following the discovery by the new administration of a significant shortfall in its coffers after assuming office nearly seven months ago.
The probe, which will be carried out by a team of chartered accountants and lawyers, was ordered by Athens Mayor Haris Doukas and approved by the Municipal Council.
It pertains to the financial management of the previous authority, under Kostas Bakoyannis, who was voted out of office in October last year and handed over to the new authority at the start of 2024.
According to an announcement, the audit will concentrate on a shortfall of 3.65 million euros, of which 2 million euros is related to a European Union-funded program for housing refugees, ESTIA.
It will, specifically, be looking into how funds were managed by the municipality’s Development and Tourism Promotion Company, which was responsible for handling this funding and other revenue streams, as well as for carrying out various development projects.