A long-simmering dispute between Athens Mayor Haris Doukas and Social Cohesion Minister Domna Michailidou over control of the Athens Nursing Home has revived questions about the troubled institution’s management and future. Founded in 1864 to shelter the poor, the home once housed more than 600 residents and amassed a vast fortune through donations and inheritances, including 5.5 hectares on Kifissias Avenue and hundreds of properties across Greece. Mismanagement and corruption, however, nearly destroyed it. Between 2008 and 2013, millions were allegedly embezzled as buildings fell into disrepair. Former president and priest Prokopis Boumpas was sentenced in 2020 to more than 16 years in prison for embezzlement and breach of trust. Today, under President Spyros Chamakiotis, the home holds 756 properties worth over €120 million but still owes millions in taxes and wages. A government recovery plan aims to reopen closed wards and house up to 550 elderly residents, though political clashes continue over property sales and oversight. [NIKOS KOKKALIAS]
A long-simmering dispute between Athens Mayor Haris Doukas and Social Cohesion Minister Domna Michailidou over control of the Athens Nursing Home has revived questions about the troubled institution’s management and future.
Founded in 1864 to shelter the poor, the home once housed more than 600 residents and amassed a vast fortune through donations and inheritances, including 5.5 hectares on Kifissias Avenue and hundreds of properties across Greece. Mismanagement and corruption, however, nearly destroyed it. Between 2008 and 2013, millions were allegedly embezzled as buildings fell into disrepair. Former president and priest Prokopis Boumpas was sentenced in 2020 to more than 16 years in prison for embezzlement and breach of trust.
Today, under President Spyros Chamakiotis, the home holds 756 properties worth over €120 million but still owes millions in taxes and wages. A government recovery plan aims to reopen closed wards and house up to 550 elderly residents, though political clashes continue over property sales and oversight.
