Court orders new probe into ELSTAT deficit figure
A council of appeals court judges on Thursday rejected the recommendation of a public prosecutor and ordered a new investigation into allegations that Greece’s 2009 public deficit figure was manipulated to pave the way for an international bailout.
The claims were first made two years ago by former Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) employee Zoe Georganta but were rejected by the body’s chief, Andreas Georgiou. Magistrate Eleni Pediaditi dropped the case due to lack of evidence and several months later appeals court prosecutor Yiannis Koutras also recommended that the charges against Georgiou be dropped.
However, Georganta recently made a fresh complaint, claiming that documents from the original case file have been lost. As a result, the matter is now being assigned to a new magistrate who will have to start the probe anew.
