| Author (Person) | Hope, Kerin |
|---|---|
| Series Title | Financial Times |
| Series Details | 1.11.12 |
| Publication Date | 01/11/2012 |
| Content Type | News |
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The Greek investigative journalist Costas Vaxevanis who published the names of 2,000 Greeks with bank accounts at a Swiss branch of HSBC in October 2012 was acquitted on the 1 November 2012 of violating data protection laws after a marathon 11-hour court hearing. Mr Vaxevanis argued in his defence that he was acting in the public interest, saying that Greek politicians colluded with the country’s business elite to cover up tax evasion and other corrupt practices. Financial prosecutors probing the handling of the so-called Lagarde list sent the case to the Greek Parliament, asking the House to investigate whether any politicians should face criminal charges for not using the list of Greeks with Swiss bank accounts to determine whether any were guilty of tax evasion. On the 16 November 2012 the Athens prosecutor ordered the retrial of Costas Vaxevanis. The prosecutor’s office said the acquittal on the 1 November 2012 was 'legally flawed', and Mr Vaxevanis would be tried again by a higher misdemeanours court. No date was set for the new trial. At the end of December 2012 there was a further development. Former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou dismissed the move to make him face a parliamentary inquiry over the Lagarde list as an attempt to 'manufacture guilt' after Greece’s three governing coalition parties agreed to propose such an investigation. A total of 71 MPs from New Democracy, PASOK and Democratic Left signed a proposal for Parliament to investigate whether Papaconstantinou should face prosecution over allegations that he tampered with the list of Greek depositors at the Geneva branch of HSBC in order to remove the details of his relatives. |
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| Countries / Regions | Greece |
