Neo-Nazi MP sold hygiene products to NGO backed by refugee fund

A firm owned by Golden Dawn MP Ilias Panayiotaros sold 25,000 euros’ worth of hygiene products to the nongovernmental organization Doctors of the World and received part of its payment from the European Refugee Fund, it was revealed in Parliament on Friday.

Deputy Labor Minister Vassilis Kegeroglou said that the sale had been discovered during checks on the company’s invoices. The matter has now been referred to the Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE) and a prosecutor as Panayiotaros’s firm did not have authorization from tax authorities to sell these goods. His company, Falanga, owns a store in Athens that sells clothes to members of the neo-Nazi party.

“Apart from being a criminal organization, they are also a business,” Kegeroglou said of the far-right party.

The revelation about the July 2012 deal, shortly after Golden Dawn entered Parliament for the first time, prompted the NGO to make a statement admitting it had made a mistake when choosing a supplier.

“The choice was based solely on the which of the offers submitted was the lowest,” the group, also known as Medecins du Monde, said. “We admit that, unfortunately, we did not match up the offer in question with the supplier.”

The NGO said it remains committed to opposing fascism and racism and pointed out that one of its clinics, in Perama near Piraeus, was attacked by Golden Dawn members.