The monastery was accused of trading low-value land for high-value state property in a deal with the New Democracy government of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis.

[8] American writer Michael Lewis reports that a Greek parliamentary commission estimated the value of government property received by the monastery at one billion euros.

[9] Michael Lewis, in his book Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World,[10] visits the monastery,[11] details the frugal, hard-working lifestyle of the monks and investigates the real estate deal which would have helped in efforts to restore Vatopedi to its former glory.

[12] In December 2010, a Court of Appeals found guilty and imposed a ten-month imprisonment (with three years suspension) to ex-judge Maria Psaltis on charges of misconduct and violations of judicial secrecy.

[15] Finally Abbot Ephraim, monk Arsenios and the judge Maria Psaltis were relived from the accusation from Areios Pagos, the Supreme Court of the Hellenic Republic (Greece), by the act 966/2012.

As of December 2011, 3 years after the reveal of the alleged scandal, none of the two different investigating parliamentary commissions and various trials had found any of the persons involved guilty of illegal money transactions or real estate fraud.

[20] There are seven icons of the Mother of God in the monastery purported by believers to be miracle-working: Elaiovrytissa, Ktetorissa (Vimatarissa), Esphagmeni, Pantanassa, Pyrovolitheisa, Antiphonitria and Paramythia.