Parliament’s ethics panel mulls Haikalis’ bribery claims, copies video for party leaders [Update]
Parliament’s ethics committee convened on Friday afternoon to discuss claims by independent Greeks MP Pavlos Haikalis that a middleman tried to bribe him so he would vote for the coalition’s candidate in presidential elections. Meanwhile, a video that purportedly shows a conversation between Haikalis and the alleged middleman was copied and was to be distributed to party leaders for their perusal following the approval of a prosecutor. The ethics committee is to be convene again on Saturday.
Sources indicated that the alleged middleman was to testify on Friday afternoon to the security police in connection with the claims.
Responding to the allegations earlier in the day, New Democracy’s party secretary Andreas Papamimikos referred to “a provocation” and climlis, to vote for the coalition’s candidate for president, New Democracy party secretary Andreas Papamimikos described the allegations as “a set up” and “a provocation,” adding that the alleged mediator in the affair had been an adviser to Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos.
Papamimikos did not name the alleged mediator but said that he had testified with Kammenos in a trial last year related to the purchase of credit default swaps (CDS) and had traveled with a delegation of leftist SYRIZA officials to Cyprus, also last year.The ND cadre was apparently referring to Giorgos Apostolopoulos who was a key witness against Andrikos Papandreou, the brother of former Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou, who last year sued Kammenos after the latter accused him of involvement with a firm that profited from the purchase of CDS insuring against a Greek bankruptcy.
