Following a report by the Mayor of Galati, the NTA conducted an audit of the Municipality’s Cashier Service. The purpose of the audit was to investigate discrepancies between the Municipality's bank accounts and those of two legal entities: the "SOCIAL PROTECTION AND WELFARE ORGANIZATION" and the "CULTURAL AND SPORTS ORGANIZATION". The audit revealed that withdrawals from the bank accounts were not justified by corresponding payments of expenditure by the Municipality. Furthermore, cash documents were not aligned with actual transactions of the bank accounts, resulting in a significant cash deficit of €255,000.
The audit team's findings on bank account transactions for the period 01.01.2020 to 30.06.2020 are outlined below.
- A deficit of €230,000 has been identified in the financial reserves of the "CULTURAL AND SPORTS ORGANIZATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF GALATSIOU - VASSIL PAPADIONYSIOU".
- It has been determined that fictitious surcharges, falsified reports of bank account transactions and accounting manipulations were carried out by a Municipality’s employee. These actions were undertaken to cover up the aforementioned deficit.
- The financial reserves of the "SOCIAL PROTECTION AND SOLIDARITY ORGANIZATION" are currently deficient to the tune of 25,000.00€.
The Report of the NTA Auditors-Inspectors has been referred to the Prosecutor of the Athens Appeals Court for a criminal evaluation of the findings contained therein.
In the context of disciplinary responsibility, the Mayor of Galatsi has already referred the case to the competent Disciplinary Council.
It is noted that the NTA is continuing the audit and a second report will be prepared on the bank accounts’ transactions and the legal entities during previous financial years.