Prosecutor argues against statue expiry in case against ex-finance chief
The prosecutor arguing the case against ex-Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou, accused of removing the names of three relatives from a list of suspected tax dodgers when he was in office, told a special court convened to try the former Socialist minister that there are no grounds for the charges to be dropped on the basis of the statute of limitations.
Xeni Dimitriou argued that the statute protecting ministers from prosecution in cases when two general elections have followed their indictment does not apply to Papaconstantinou, who is accused of tampering with the so-called Lagarde list of Greeks with large deposits at HSBC in Geneva.
Dimitriou also accused the former minister, who has denied the charges of doctoring the document and breach of faith, of inconsistencies in his testimony about the chain of possession of the controversial list.
