The moment of truth for the financial management of the Ark of the World has arrived, as in the coming weeks all financial data will be put under the microscope, while the Black Money Laundering Authority will investigate the personal assets of Father Antoniou and the elder, former president of the D.Stamatia Georgantis .
As reported by the Greek protothema.gr, starting with the Ark of the World itself, the new caretaker Board that took over yesterday by decision of the Ministry of Labor will proceed with rapid procedures in management control. This will be the first move of the new president, Alexandra Martinou, who took over the reins of the foundation, having experience from the organization "Together for Children". Ms. Martinou, according to protothema.gr, in repeated meetings held yesterday before and after the formalization of the takeover of the Ark, had contacts with one of the major auditing companies of the country, but also with a large law firm that will take over free of charge. The goal is to do a thorough audit so that the new board members know the situation they face. Already, by the end of the week and probably on Thursday, the new seven-member Board of Directors of the Ark will meet to plan its next steps.
The next step will be the organization of the new daily life of the Ark of the World, as the priority is not to disturb the proper functioning of the structures around Greece. For this purpose, experienced executives in administration and social services will be recruited in the next few days, with whom several members of the Board of Directors have contact due to their previous involvement with charitable institutions. At the same time, and given that the year is coming to an end, the new Board will have to see what will happen with the financial resources for the operation of the Ark, which come almost exclusively from private sponsorships.
In the context of the management audit which will be carried out with the help of the auditors and lawyers, the new Board will try to provide answers to some of the questions floating around in the public sphere. For example, how much of the approximately 5 million that the Ark had as income was allocated to the foundation's purposes, and the foundation's balance sheets, which exist but have not been published, will also be reviewed. It also remains to be ascertained whether the Ark's previous years had a surplus of hundreds of thousands of euros and what happened to these amounts.
Tightening the noose
At the same time and while Father Antonius and his wife are maintaining an almost stunning silence, without as yet having even made public who their legal counsel is, the head of the Money Laundering Authority, Charalambos Vourliotis, will thoroughly investigate their finances. It will be recalled that Mr. Vourliotis had recently issued a damning report on the widow of George Trangas, Maria Karras, freezing much of her property in Greece.
Given, therefore, that Father Antonios Papanikolaou and Sr, given that this is what the founders of the respective Non-Profit Civil Society do, Mr. Vourliotis puts them under the microscope. The question, which Mr. Vourliotis is asked to answer, is whether Father Antonios, the elder or a person in the immediate environment of their associates misappropriated private sponsorships to the Ark, resulting in unjust enrichment.
The investigation will focus on the assets of the persons in question as to the legality of their acquisition, with embezzlement being the first possible offence. There are, however, allegations, which have not yet reached the courts, of pressurised practices by the Ark's leadership team to acquire real estate, with the real estate of the organisation valued at more than €7 million.
A crucial question, which Mr Vourliotis will be asked to answer, examining the sources of Ark's income and the enrichment of the leading group's individuals, is whether there was also a "black fund", to which money was directed that was not recorded in the balance sheets. The Ark has reportedly been audited recently by independent auditors, but all the manipulations of the organisation and its leadership team are being re-examined in the light of the stormy revelations.
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