Journalist Makarios Drousiotis has announced today that his crowdfunding appeal has raised €52,874.63.

Drousiotis said that the total included donations made through the GoGetFunding platform, direct contributions and €3,100 in cash from supporters.

He said an independent audit of the accounts and payments would be made public.

The campaign, launched on Monday to help cover his legal expenses, reached its target within 36 hours, according to Drousiotis.

After platform and payment fees, he said €46,586.49 remained in a separate PayPal account.

A further €3,188.14 was transferred to a Revolut account used exclusively for the campaign, while another €3,100 in cash is due to be added.

Drousiotis assured the money would be used only for the purpose for which it was donated and that all transactions would be reviewed by an approved auditing firm.

The final figure comes as legal questions continue over the legality of the appeal.

Lawyer Simos Angelides said the campaign did not appear to fall within the legislation as currently written.

“Based on the law as it currently stands, this crowdfunding campaign does not appear to fall within the interpretation of the legislation,” he said.

Drousiotis’ own lawyer Maria Theristi similarly argued that the appeal concerned “the expenses of a specific court case and his personal legal defence” rather than a charitable or social cause.

The interior ministry referred the matter to police for examination after the campaign came to its attention.

Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou has said that no prosecution would follow if authorities determined that the campaign does not fall under the legislation.

The journalists’ union (ESK) has raised concerns on the implications of the cases against Drousiotis for stifling freedom of expression.

Drousiotis is facing criminal proceedings over the case involving a woman known as Sandy, as well as separate proceedings concerning alleged personal data offences arising from his book Mafia State.

He has rejected the allegations and described the Sandy prosecution as “vindictive in nature”.

Drousiotis has maintained that his fundraising appeal is intended to meet the legal costs arising from his journalistic work and has pledged to make the campaign’s financial records publicly available.