NEWS

Three ex-ministers identified over submarine deal

An investigation by the financial crimes squad (SDOE) has concluded that three former ministers as well as several public officials should face prosecution over the complex purchase of four submarines by the Greek navy, Sunday?s Kathimerini understands.

SDOE is due to deliver its findings to the Athens Prosecutor’s Office this coming week and Greek judicial authorities will then make a request to German authorities for details of the financial transactions involved in the purchase of the submarines.

SDOE will also ask for the bank accounts of all those alleged to be involved to be frozen.

Greece had identified technical problems with the Type 214 diesel-electric submarine, manufactured by ThyssenKrupp in Germany, as being the reason for not accepting delivery of the four vessels that it ordered between 2001 and 2005

The first submarine, dubbed Papanikolis, had been docked in Kiel from 2006 until it was finally delivered last year. There was an agreement to build three of the submarines and refurbish another three at Hellenic Shipyards, west of Athens.

It has been claimed that Ferrostaal, a subsidiary of the MAN Group until 2009, which was part of the consortium that won the contract in 2000 to supply the submarines, paid 10 to 12 million euros to secure the deal for the first of these vessels.

The agreement for the four submarines was worth 1.26 billion euros.

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