Significant progress has been made concerning the €807,000 found at the Habakkuk Monastery and handed over to the police by bishop Isaiah.
For the first time, explanations from the monks were provided through judicial documents and sworn statements about this enormous sum of money kept in a safe at the monastery, which is one of the key issues being investigated by police detectives.
The Economic Crime investigative team of the police, reinforced with two prosecutors, is investigating, among other things, the offence of money laundering from illegal activities, which is why they proceeded with a freeze order.
Bank accounts of the two archimandrites of the monastery and another monk, as well as their immovable property, have also been frozen by court orders.
Today, the lawyers of the archimandrites, Adriana Klaidi and Athos Kannaurides, filed an application with the Nicosia District Court requesting the annulment of the freeze orders for both the amount of €807,000 and their bank accounts and immovable property.
According to the application of the three affected monks, they claim that the police did not present the real evidence and facts to secure the freeze orders for the money and property and that if the court had known all the facts, it would not have issued the said orders.
The three monks reveal for the first time the source of the money, how it originated from the sale of immovable property owned by third parties (named individuals) and how it was managed by the abbot Nektarios for a specific purpose.
Specifically, this money was intended for the construction of a multi-purpose building in the Lycrodontas area, where the abbot, other monks, and clergy would reside, while there would also be an educational centre for both religious purposes and use by the disabled and others.
Indeed, these claims are supported by a sworn statement submitted to the court by the individual who is alleged to have been one of the owners of the immovable property that was sold, and the money was given to the archimandrite Nektarios. He also provides evidence that all taxes were paid from the land purchase.
According to the application, the properties were sold six years before the construction of the monastery, so they did not originate from contributions from believers or other sources.
As also stated in the application filed today in court, all beneficiaries of the sold properties who proceeded with the donation to the monastery had sent a letter to bishop Tamasos and Oreinis Isaiah between 5-8 March, i.e., from the day the money was received by the monastery until the bishop’s report to the police, informing him about the origin of the money.
The monks’ lawyers question why, when there were many independent witnesses and evidence about the origin of the money and the payment of taxes after the sale was declared, they were concealed from the investigators, with the aim of freezing the money and the monks’ accounts.
The hearing of the application, which was filed under urgent procedure, is scheduled for 26 April, when both sides will argue whether the freeze orders issued on 5/4/2024 will remain in force, be amended, or even annulled.
