Greek Parliament to investigate land swap

Greek lawmakers voted unanimously early Thursday to launch a parliamentary investigation into a scandal involving a land swap between the state and a 1,000-year-old Orthodox monastery that has deeply embarrassed the conservative government.

Under Greek law, parliament is the only authority competent to decide whether deputies or government officials should face prosecution. The motion was approved unanimously by all five parties in parliament, and an investigative committee will be set up within 45 days to start the probe, parliament speaker Dimitris Sioufas said.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis' conservatives, who hold a slim majority of two seats in the 300-seat parliament, have been accused of trying to cover up the scandal, under which the powerful Vatopedi monastery traded low-value land for high-value state property.

A preliminary judicial investigation found that the deals were weighted in favor of the monks, and the cost to the state is believed to have been at least 100 million euros ($136 million). The government canceled the land deals this month and acknowledged they had hurt the public interest.

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