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Another politician built a villa with money from the European Union

06 January 2014 / 20:01:08  GRReporter
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It turns out that, after former Minister Michalis Liapis, his former party colleague and current party leader of Independent Greeks Panos Kamenos is the owner of a villa financed with European funds.

This time the news came out on the air. Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis referred to publications in the press, accusing Kamenos of building, with European money, a villa on the island of Ikaria.

The attacks enraged Panos Kamenos who called the Minister of Health "Mr. Samaras’ fascist." Then he explained that a blog had first published the case of the villa in 2010. According to Panos Kamenos, the case is about 10 rooms for rent, owned by his wife's mother who closed her tourist company five years ago. "I had not received any funding nor do I have any hidden assets," said Kamenos.

Photo: antinews.gr

Adonis Georgiadis immediately replied. The Minister made ​​it clear that the case is identical to that of Michalis Liapis. "In 2004 his wife's mother had received funding to build a hotel. During a check carried out in 2010 she had however presented only two receipts, one of them issued by Panos Kamenos himself."

The violent dispute continued on the social network Twitter. "There is no better proof than the recognition that your wife’s mother had closed her company immediately after the expiry of the statutory period (for the operation of the hotel – author’s note)," wrote Adonis Georgiadis.

The accusations relating to Kamenos’ villa in Ikaria are a continuation of the altercation between the two politicians. It started in April 2013 when Adonis Georgiadis said that the yacht "Iliatoras of London" owned by the Kamenos family had been registered in the name of an offshore company with the clear aim of avoiding paying taxes for it in Greece.

The documents submitted by Georgiadis show that the luxury 17.19-metre long yacht is the property of an offshore company, namely Cass Corporation Limited, the registered office of which is on the British Isle of Man. On paper, it is owned by two people who are managers of a number of other similar companies.

"The shares are held by the two Englishmen who are acting as agents. However, where is the ownership document?" asked the Minister of Health, who stated, "In order to avoid paying taxes Panos Kamenos had registered his father as a user and himself as a skipper."

Photo: tanea.gr

Panos Kamenos defined the charge as "falsification on the part of New Democracy", denying that he is the owner of the vessel in question. In a written statement, he said, "The case is about an unused yacht under the British flag, owned by Ilias Kamenos (my father) in 1993, which was declared before the Greek tax authorities and paid in full in a Greek bank."

In connection with the issue of the yacht, Kamenos has filed a lawsuit against Georgiadis and it is expected that the court will consider the case on 16 January. The Minister of Health said he would attend the trial. "I'll be there and speak. I hope that Mr. Kamenos, who is also a brave man, will come to court too and that he will not hide like he did last time," the Minister said.

Tags: PoliticsPanos KamenosVillaThe island of IkariaEuropean fundingAdonis GeorgiadisLawsuit
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