The Greek government plans to transfer 587 monuments and cultural buildings in 37 provinces across the country to the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), despite reassurances to the contrary by Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos.

The Association of Greek Archaeologists, which has appealed to the Council of State (CoE) against the move, the nation’s highest administrative court, accused the government of failing to exclude the monuments and sites, many of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The HRADF is the fund managed by Greece’s creditors for the development and exploitation of state-owned and managed properties and sites.

The list of the 2,327 sites, monuments, and buildings identified by the Greek archaeologists includes among other buildings Knossos, the Venetian castle walls in Heraklion, the prehistoric settlement at Akrotiri in Thira and the tomb of King Leonidas of Sparta, as well as the Royal Tomb of Philip II in Vergina.

The government has denied it plans to transfer the sites to the fund, however, the Minister of Culture refused to make the list public.