With testimony from beekeeper Menelaos Filippou, painter Charalambos Kekkos, and disability benefit recipient Kostas Petsas, the trial regarding the financial aspects of the Avvakoum case continued on Monday. Petsas claimed that he had donated €6,000 to the Monastery without receiving a receipt, while Filippou and Kekkos stated that the monastery owes them amounts of approximately €2,500 and €15,000, respectively.
Beekeeper Menelaos Filippou stated that he decided to support the monastery on a pro bono basis by providing honey free of charge for the Monastery to sell.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
As he explained, in 2021 he donated 300 unlabeled packages of honey to be sold by the monastery, and subsequently donated another 200 packages. According to the witness, each package of honey was sold for €10 by the monastery.
The witness also stated that he began issuing invoices in 2023 for the honey he delivered to the Monastery. As he explained, he listed a larger quantity on these invoices than what was actually delivered in order to cover orders that had not been invoiced in 2021 and 2022.
He then claimed that the monastery owes him an amount close to €2,500. He said he had demanded this specific amount from Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamassos, who told him that he could not do anything until the legal proceedings were concluded.
During cross-examination of the witness, the defense attorney for the defendant Nektarios, Kostis Efstathiou, stated that these invoices “do not reflect reality,” as they list different dates and amounts.
“These invoices mean nothing. These invoices are the product of your own initiative. They have no connection to the actual delivery date, nor to their price,” noted Mr. Efstathiou.
Subsequently, the defense attorney for the defendant Porfyrios, Eustathios Eustathios, pointed out to the witness that Porphyrios had never asked him to keep the honey deal secret, contrary to what the beekeeper had claimed. The witness disagreed with Mr. Efstathiou and stood by his own version of events.
Next to testify was the painter Charalambos Kekkos, who stated that he had carried out work worth several tens of thousands of euros, first at the home of Nektarios’s mother and then at the monastery, which he completed in 2024.
The witness claimed that the monastery owes him an amount close to €15,000. As he said, he contacted the Diocese of Tamassos regarding payment, but they referred him to Nektarios.
He also said that he filed a lawsuit against the Metropolis of Tamassos to claim a refund of the amount he had paid for VAT.
At Monday’s hearing, Kostas Petsas, a recipient of disability benefits, also testified, claiming that he had donated €6,000 to the monastery.
“In early 2022, Father Nektarios asked me to provide financial assistance to the monastery. He mentioned a sum of 5,000 to 6,000 euros and said they would give me an icon as a gift. I collected some money from relatives and friends and received 4,000 euros in retroactive payments from the government,” he said.
“Once I had gathered the 6,000 euros, we arranged a meeting. I handed over the amount in cash without receiving any receipt. I put it in an envelope and gave it to a man named Andreas who was with Father Timothy,” the witness noted.
As he claimed, he was told that if the donation went through, his name would be listed as a benefactor and he would receive a large icon as a gift.
“I maintain that nothing of the sort ever happened; you’re lying,” said Kostis Efstathiou, the defense attorney for the defendant Nektarios, to the witness.
“I’m telling the truth,” replied the witness.
“I maintain that you never gave the sum of 6,000 euros to either Andreas or Timothy,” said Kostis Efstathiou, while the witness disagreed and insisted on his version of events.
Subsequently, the defense attorney for the defendant Porphyrios, Efstathios Efstathiou, pointed out to the witness that he had no connection or contact with Father Porphyrios, a point with which the witness agreed.
The next court sessions were scheduled for October 5 and 7, at 9:30 a.m.
It should be noted that the main defendants in the case are the defrocked monks Nektarios and Porphyrios. Among other charges, they face conspiracy to defraud, forgery, and use of forged documents, theft by a representative, illegal possession of property, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and filing a false tax return.
Source: CNA
