NEWS

PASOK to review audit of party finances as report claims millions unaccounted for

PASOK’s political council is set to meet next week, possibly on Wednesday, to discuss an audit of party finances which reportedly revealed that more than 100 million euros of the Socialists’ cash was unaccounted for.

Daily newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton reported on Friday that PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos had appointed five accounting firms (Grant Thornton, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Deloitte & Touche and PWC Greece) to audit the party, whose debt stands at 114 million euros. The newspaper alleged that their report would show that 114.5 million euros had been spent between 2007 and 2010 without proper records being kept.

The party did not confirm the report but did say that an audit had been carried out on financial records between 2004 and 2010. It said that the accountants’ findings would be discussed by the appropriate party bodies.

The newspaper claims that accountants found that spending approved by former leader and ex-Prime Minister George Papandreou, as well as ex-secretary Nikos Athanasakis and general secretary Rovertos Spyropoulos, did not have the necessary paperwork. Spyropoulos issued a statement yesterday saying the claims bore “no relation to the truth.”

The audit could provide an opportunity for Venizelos to distance himself from the party’s record under Papandreou.

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