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Stockbrokers and Businessmen Shifted the Black Cash of Siemens to Politicians

11 June 2010 / 12:06:22  GRReporter
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The commission, which examines the scandal of Siemens’s black cash, has already in its hands a list of names of all who have received bribes from the German company. Having completed the investigation of the offices of Siemens, the Office for prosecution of economic crimes added to its report the complete list of names - mostly journalists and politicians who soon will be announced.

Bribes to politicians were not sent by the Greek headquarters of Siemens, but by the headquarters in Germany, said Dionisis Dendrinos, a former director of technical services at the German company. He testified before the parliamentary commission and said Michalis Christoforakos has never given reason to believe that he was involved in bribing politicians.

Katerina Tsakalu - personal secretary of Michalis Christoforakos testified before the commission for the third time. She denied her lawyer Alexis Kuyas because of the incorrect reference to the media that in her view the politicians from all political parties came to Michalis Christoforakos. Meanwhile, former minister Christos Verelis denied he had contacts with Michalis Christoforakos. He also denied the statement that he received gifts from Siemens except for a phone that he had kept for “courtesy” but have never used.  

Parliamentary commission found a pyramid for the allocation of the black cash money of the company and insisted on opening the accounts of all those who are part of it - about 25 people from the stock market and big businessmen. А letter signed unanimously by all political members states that these criminal rings have devised a mechanism for receiving money in Greece. It was given as bribes and was perfectly secured to mask all tracks. Lawmakers insisted on opening of the accounts, clarifying that there is no evidence that all those people were directly involved and knew that they were transferring black cash from the illegal funds of the company.

According to the commission on top of the list are the names of George Kaldis and Alexandros Letsas who by order of Christoforakos have established the offshore companies Placid Blue and Fairways Estate and facilitated the transfer and movement of the black cash in Greece with the ultimate goal - the politicians. According to the commission stockbrokers cooperated with them. The commission wants the route of money to be examined so that it becomes clear whether Greek citizens have exported large amounts of money without leaving any trace in Greece through J.S. Oswald - employee of Dresdner Bank in Switzerland, who was legal manager of the aforementioned companies as well as of Martha Overseas and Martha Holding. The commission also wants to examine whether money was transferred through “mother” accounts into the accounts of intermediate persons and companies that subsequently transferred it to the accounts of politicians in Greece or abroad.  

The investigators found 21 phones in the office of Michalis Christoforakos and immediately issued an order for secrecy grading removal in order to trace the persons who Christoforakos talked to. The computer hard drive, which was found in the office of Catherine Tsakalu – the former secretary of the Director of Siemens for Greece, and the laptop of her former boss Michalis Christoforakos, will be sent in the laboratories of the Department for electronic crimes prosecution.
 
In the coming days, the owner of Intracom Sokratis Kokalis, the former president Petros Lambru and the former director of the international investment sector of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization George Skarpelis will be summoned before the parliamentary commission in connection with the Siemens’s case. They will testify for the large orders of equipment and the digital centers that have been granted to Siemens and Intracom.

Meanwhile, the Parliament Speaker Filipos Petsalnikos forwarded to the Chief Cabinet Secretary Spyros Litras request for investigation of the wealth of ministers, deputy ministers and chief secretaries of the ministries that had contracts with Siemens over the previous 20 years.

Tags: NewsCrime newsSiemensBribesStock exchangeOffshore companiesPoliticiansJournalistsBusinessmen
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