A Greek fugitive from the law prefered monastic life to jail and lived at a Mount Athos monastery for eight years before being tracked down by police on Tuesday during a move from one monastery to another. The 48-year-old man, a former accountant, was convicted of financial misdeeds but escaped his jail sentence by passing himself off as a novice monk. He had been convincted in absentia for the embezzlement of some nine million euros of public funds between 1995 to 2002 but hid out at the monastic state that is also a UNESCO World Heritage site with 20 Orthodox monasteries that have had autonomy since Byzantine times. No women or children are allowed at the site.