Questions are raised for the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis, by the journalistic investigation of «Solomon» and «Reporters United», according to which European money for refugee housing ends up through the Greek Ministry of Immigration and Asylum to two real estate companies in Athens.

According to the same publication, the companies in question have been accused of fraud by Chinese investors in Golden Visa, and in the recent past they have been audited for money laundering.

Indeed, «Solomon» and «Reporters United» report that these companies were «acquitted» thanks to an amendment by Adonis Georgiades.

«The payment of millions of euros is made through an NGO, which does not meet the essential criteria set by the Greek government to “bring order to NGOs”, and furthermore, it is alleged to have been set up by relatives of the persons in charge of the companies to which the money ends up», the investigation stresses, while it is revealed that the newly established NGO «Hopeten» was registered in the Registry in record time, securing more than 7 million euros for 15 months.

In conclusion, the same journalist group notes that the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum responded to the questions raised through the month-long journalistic investigation with a «58-word non-answer».

«The Ministry of Immigration and Asylum launched an open call in 2020 for the renewal of the ESTI programme, a call to which legal entities could respond at a predefined unit price. All proposals were accepted at the given programme price. In case the provider is an NGO, it should follow the transparency rules provided for by the legislation in force» was the blank response received by the researchers.

Finally, as regards the companies involved, the same publication notes that «they sent out letters of summons attempting to obstruct the journalistic investigation before its publication».

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