New Democracy, PASOK face prosecutor’s deadline in party funding probe
New Democracy and PASOK must respond by the end of Monday to a demand by financial prosecutor Grigoris Peponis for more information relating to the parties’ funding.
At the end of January, Peponis invited officials from New Democracy and PASOK to give explanations about large loans the two parties received from several banks as part of a probe into political funding.
Kathimerini understands that Peponis has asked officials from the two parties to answer questions with regard to combined debts of some 250 million euros to banks.
New Democracy reportedly owes some 105 million euros to ATEbank and 15 million euros to Piraeus Bank.
PASOK reportedly has borrowed 97 million euros from ATEbank, 22 million from Attica Bank, 10 million from Marfin and 5 million from Piraeus.
Peponis is investigating the circumstances under which these loans were granted and whether any laws were broken. Both parties are thought to have mortgaged future state funding, which all parliamentary parties receive, to obtain the loans.
