The finance ministry in Greece has released details of the grants made by Hellenic Aid, its development aid agency, to nongovernmental organisations from 2000 to 2010.

The data, provided in reply to a parliamentary question, shows that a total of €115.4m was paid to a total of 431 Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) over eleven years.

The largest single annual grant was for 7.57million euros, made in 2006 while New Democracy was in power to Allilegii (Solidarity), an NGO run by the Church of Greece. Solidarity was shut down in 2010 after a church investigation revealed the abuse and mismanagement of funds.

Solidarity was also the biggest recipient of funds, attracting a 23.12 million euros over six years, 5.3 million euros of which was subsequently returned.

The second highest grant was for 4.44 million euros, paid in 2003 to the International Mine Initiative under a Pasok government. Last month, the former director of the now defunct NGO was remanded in custody by a prosecutor who was handed the results of a 20-month fraud investigation by the financial police into the organisation.

The IMI was also the second highest beneficiary of Hellenic Aid funds, being awarded 8.95 million euros over five years.

It was followed in third place by an organisation called European Perspective Development and Education Centre, which was run by Pantelis Sklias, which received 7.51 million euros over 11 years. According to its archived website, European Perspective had “regional support offices” in “Fyrom, Albania, Kosovo, Ecuador, Belize, and Dominica”. Among its main aims was the provision of “emergency humanitarian and food aid actions for developing countries and, in general, for any area on the planet needing aid”.

Presenting the information to the Greek Parliament, deputy foreign minister Akis Gerontopoulos said the money went to a total of 732 development programmes, 198 of which are ongoing. Last month, Gerontopoulos confirmed that 118 of these ongoing programmes are being audited by certified public accountants, a process that
the ministry expects will be completed completed by October

Gerontopoulos said that Hellenic Aid does not fund NGOs per se but only developmental and humanitarian projects organised by them and which correspond to the country’s development and diplomatic policies.

Source: enetenglish