Papaconstantinou has ‘huge responsibility,’ publisher tells Lagarde list inquiry
A parliamentary committee tasked with investigating former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou over claims that he removed the names of three relatives from the Lagarde list of Greek depositors on Friday heard the testimony of publisher and reporter Makis Kouris who reportedly claimed that the ex minister has “huge responsibilities” as regards the handling of the list.
Kouris was summoned before the panel in connection with an article published in his newspaper To Paron in December 2010 which referred to the existence of a list of 1,991 Greeks with “untaxed deposits” in foreign banks and questioned why Greek authorities were not seeking the list.
In his testimony, Kouris reportedly criticized Papaconstantinou for having the Lagarde list in his possession from 2010 but “not saying or doing anything.” The publisher is also alleged to have apportioned blame to former prime minister George Papandreou and the former heads of the Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE), Yiannis Diotis and Yiannis Kapeleris. The publisher is also alleged to have told the inquiry that a SDOE report into the assets of Papaconstantinou’s relatives suggested that there were irregularities regarding their tax status.
Meanwhile members of the committee from the main leftist opposition party SYRIZA have called for former Greek Ambassador in Paris Constantinos Halastanis following the arrival of new data from the French Finance Ministry which challenges some of his earlier claims. Halastanis originally told the inquiry that he had received an envelope from the French Finance Ministry but had not been aware of its contents.
