NEWS

New sustainable development director decries fund waste

The new director of Greece’s National Center for Sustainable Development (EKBAA) has brought charges against the Greek Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration (IGME), accusing its subsidiary organization of squandering public funds.

Vassilis Kostopoulos, who took over as EKBAA chief in March, claims that the state had provided 50 million euros in order to supplement lump sum pension payouts for IGME employees. He says the contract, signed in 1989 under PASOK rule, did not carry any legal authorization.

He also claims that former IGME chief Konstantinos Papavasileiou granted 120,000 euros from the IGME fund in interest-free loans to his employees as well as himself.

In response to the first allegation, the IGME employees’ union representative Haris Smyrniotis told Kathimerini on Wednesday, “It was not a retirement scheme, but a handout that was granted instead of a pay rise.”

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