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Greek abbot accused of money laundering arrested (correction)
Dec 26, 2011, 10:43 GMT
Athens - The abbot of the Vatopedi Monastery at Greece's Mount Athos has been placed under house arrest on charges of money laundering and embezzlement in connection with a land swap deal, radio reports said Sunday.
Abbot Ephraim was taken into police custody on the grounds of the 1,000-year-old monastery, which bans all women and female animals from setting foot on its soil.
A judge from the northern port city of Thessaloniki, who travelled to Mount Athos to execute the arrest warrant, said Ephraim was suffering from a high fever and a high blood sugar count.
The monk is accused of being involved in a 100-million-euro (130-million-dollar) land swap deal with the Greek government that prosecutors say ended up benefiting the monastery.
The scandal had already damaged the former conservative government's popularity, leading to the resignation of three of its ministers.
Ephraim was arrested on Saturday after police feared he might try to leave the peninsula of Mount Athos.
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