TIRANA, Oct. 23 – As Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias resigned his post last Wednesday, a number of Albanian local media reported on Friday the Greek government has been financing news portals, media and journalists in Albania through secret governmental funds.
Albanian media referred to many Greek news sources which reported that a day after Kotzias resigned following a fight with Greek Minister of Defense Panos Kammenos, a financial scandal broke out alleging the fight happened due to the misused funds that financed Albanian media, journalists, minority leaders or businesses in the country’s south.
According to Top Channel, more than one million euros have been given only during October to some Albanian news portals, while the foreign ministry’s amount of “secret funds” which Kammenos is accusing Kotzias to have misspent is a total of 45 million euros.
The leaked information published in a Greek website showed a confidential report the foreign ministry had submitted to the parliament regarding expenditure of the secret funds. According to Greek sources, the foreign ministry is obliged to send that report when the expenditure of these funds surpasses 25,000 euros.
Kotzias has said in the past these funds were mainly used to finance the Greek Orthodox Church, but also other regional activities, without offering more details, according to Albanian media.
However, sources from the foreign ministry claim a big part of the money was given through grants and assistance to different regional media and organizations to pay off journalists, portals and other figures in Albania and Macedonia.
It is also reported million of euros have been invested in businesses in Albania, mainly for hotels construction in the country’s south, or to finance the enterprises belonging to relatives of Greek minority politicians living in Albania.
Minorities officials have also received money in the form of subsidies or wage compensations, so that they don’t leave Albania to go to Greece. The same sources claim the Greek government has also financed the Masters studies in Greece of a number of Albanian officials, as well as business trips and all expenses that follow.
Cultural foundations both in Tirana and Gjirokastra are also part of the detailed list that shows details of all the accounts, but also the owners of these accounts, which accompanied Kotzia’s nine-page resignation request that was handed to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
Currently, in Greece, the country’s prosecution is investigating how the classified information was leaked to the media – a violation which is automatically punishable by the Greek law. Tsipras called the action “undermining of the country’s foreign policy.”
In this context, a number of Albanian politicians have urged President Meta to call the Security Council and engage the prosecution to investigate what they called a scandal of national proportions.
