Lagarde list controversy in Greece - former finance Ministers ( Papaconstantinou and Venizelos of Pasok ) exchange accusations ..... note cash transaction ceiling drops to 500 euros - plebes not allowed to evade taxes....... meanwhile more taxes pushed back from implementation and another strike announced.....

http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2012/12/28/lagarde-list-burns-ex-greek-finance-minister-papaconstantinou/

Lagarde-List burns ex Greek Finance Minister Papaconstantinou

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Politics

For former Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou the New Year’s Eve fire cracker went of earlier than planned. Not on upcoming Monday night but on Friday noon. Reason for the drama unfolding before our eyes, were the claims that two of his relatives had bank accounts at the HSBC, Geneva branch. Nothing bad about it. Only that the names of his two cousins and of one of their husbands were not on the infamous Lagarde-List - the one the French authorities handed out to the Greeks in 2010. Or at least, they were not on the Lagarde-list that was going from office desk to office drawer for two years. Neither on the Lagarde-list that was published last October. But they were on the Lagarde-list handed out to economic prosecutors  who travelled to Paris onDecember 21st to receive the original list.

What had happened? How did these three names had disappeared from the list? A mystery that puzzled the economic prosecutors who compared the two lists and crossed checked account holders, amounts and obviously also family relations.

Had someone put a finger with a tiny eraser on the tip and ‘modified’ the first Lagarde-list?A mystery that needs to be solved.

According to Greek daily Ta Nea that made public the Papaconstantinou-HSBC-family relations on its website on Friday,  the two cousins of Papaconstantinou are the daughters of his politician uncle, Michalis Papaconstantinou, a former Nea Dimocratia politician who had also served as Foreign Minister under Mitsotakis government.

 The account of at least one of the holders was containing 1,220,000 USD and thus at least until 2007, when bank employee Herve Falciani stole the data of account holders at HSBC branch in Geneva.

“These individuals, who had been dropped from the [original] list, allegedly held two accounts one of which included $US 1.222.000 while the movement of sums on the other [account] do not appear as it was a closed [account]. This is what emerged from the comparison of the two lists as a result of the investigation by the economic prosecutors Grigoris Peponis and Spyros Mousakitis” (Ta Nea)

The news spread like a wild fire and the suspicion the former FinMin had allegedly removed the names of his relatives from the list turned to a tsunami.

Government and opposition parties demanded immediate clarifications on the issue and George Papaconstantinou was forced to make a statement.

He vehemently dismissed all claims and denied any involvement in making even ‘tiny modifications’ on the list.

“I never had any account or any connection to any account at the HSBC bank. I never made any intervention when I received the list,” Papaconstantinou wrote in his statementamong others.

Too bad only that he was the one who received the Lagarde-List in 2010, kept it secret for two years and declared in front of the economic committee of the Parliament in November, that he did not remember where he had put the list. Which was in form of a CD, by the way.

These must have also been the reasons that Evangelos Venizelos expelled GeorgePapaconstantinou from PASOK on Friday afternoon in a fast track procedure.

Papaconstantinou is to face parliamentary inquiry.

George Papaconstantinou served as Finance Minister from October 2009 until June 2011 under Papandreou government. He was not member of the parliament after the elections in June 2012.

The Lagarde-list burned already one. Next, please 

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_29/12/2012_476370

Ex-minister under fire  Politicians push for no immunity for Papaconstantinou in Lagarde list ‘cover-up’ Politicians from across the spectrum called over the weekend for a law protecting ministers from prosecution not to apply in the case of former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou, who was implicated on Friday in doctoring the so-called Lagarde list of Greek depositors with Swiss bank accounts. The development came after all three parties in the coalition called for a parliamentary investigation into the affair. According to the law, drafted by former Justice Minister Haris Kastanidis in June 2011, ministers can be indicted to trial for crimes committed when they were not in power but they are immune from prosecution for the time that they were in office. A provision of the bill states that the statute of limitations for any crimes allegedly committed by ministers expires after two governments have served. Legal experts speculated over the weekend whether Papaconstantinou, who has been implicated in the removal of the names of three of his relatives from the list, can be prosecuted. Some argued that the statute of limitations on his alleged crime – of not handing over the intact list to authorities probing tax evasion – has not expired as he continued to be in breach of the law after leaving the ministry in June 2011. Kastanidis on Saturday said that Papaconstantinou should face prosecution under common criminal law and not enjoy special treatment for having been a minister. Communist Party leader Aleka Papariga called for the immediate change of the law granting ministers immunity from prosecution, noting that the affair of the list had “once more brought the rot in the political system to the surface.” The main leftwing opposition SYRIZA – leading in opinion polls – said that a probe into Papaconstantinou was “the least” that could be done by the government, which it accused of trying to blame the ex-minister for a broader scandal of “corruption, unchecked lawlessness and widespread tax evasion.”

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_28/12/2012_476297

New twist in Lagarde list probe  Papaconstantinou linked to alteration of data relating to Greek savers at HSBC Parliament on Friday received the original version of the so-called Lagarde list of some 2,000 Greeks who had deposited money at a Swiss branch of HSBC after court officials revealed that the names of three relatives of former Socialist Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou had been missing from the list that authorities had been investigating over the past few weeks. As Papaconstantinou vehemently denied any connection to accounts on the list, or knowledge of the presence of his relatives’ names on it, the three parties in the coalition government called for an investigative committee to be set up in Parliament to probe whether the former minister removed names from the list he was given in 2010 by his then French counterpart Christine Lagarde. The proposal for a probe was reportedly made by the head of Democratic Left, Fotis Kouvelis, who called for “a full investigation into the affair and the attribution of responsibility.” PASOK backed the proposal in a statement issued earlier in the day that announced Papaconstantinou’s ejection from the Socialist party. Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou added that the proposal had the government’s support. SYRIZA emphasized that Papaconstantinou’s implication should not exonerate PASOK chief Evangelos Venizelos, who succeeded Papaconstantinou as finance minister. Financial prosecutors who had been probing the names on the so-called Lagarde list in recent weeks confirmed on Friday that the original list given to Greek authorities by their French counterparts last week included three additional names, which are linked to Papaconstantinou. Officials of the Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE) cross-checked the names on the list being probed by authorities, featuring 2062 names, with those on the new list, featuring 2059 names, and sent prosecutors details of the three “missing” accounts. The three are Eleni Papaconstantinou-Sikiardis, a first cousin of the former minister, her husband Symeon Sikiardis and Andreas Rossonis, who is the husband of another first cousin of the ex-minister, Marina Papaconstantinou. and..... http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_28/12/2012_476301 Papaconstantinou raises doubts about Venizelos role after PASOK ouster PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos and former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou exchanged accusations on Frirday as the latter came under scrutiny after it was revealed that the names of three of his relatives had been missing from the so-called Lagarde list of Greek depositors that prosecutors had been examining. Venizelos responded to the news by ousting Papaconstantinou, a close associate of former party chief George Papandreou, from PASOK. In a statement, PASOK appeared to accept the suggestion that Papaconstantinou had doctored the original list, which the former minister vehemently denied. “There is a major issue regarding the responsibility of Giorgos Papaconstantinou since he is the one who handled the issue in the worst possible way and after two years declared he had lost the original CD,” PASOK said in its statement. Papaconstantinou responded by casting doubt over Venizelos’s role and indirectly accusing his predecessor as finance minister of framing him. “If the list has been doctored... justice has to immediately investigate who had the motive to doctor it so heavy-handedly with the aim of incriminating me,” he said, “Also, the question of why the investigation I had ordered into the names on the Lagarde list stopped as soon as I left office must be answered.” http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_29/12/2012_476366 Extension may be granted for road tax payment The government is considering granting motorists an extension to the deadline for purchasing their road tax as of next year, the general secretary for Information Systems (GSIS), Haris Theocharis, said. Speaking to Skai television, Theocharis said that the government may push back the deadline to the first week of January in a bid to avert long lines at banks and post offices. For the first time motorists this year did not have to queue for a road tax sticker but were able to download it using the online TAXISnet system. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_28/12/2012_476309 Cash transactions ceiling is set to drop to 500 euros  The Finance Ministry is mulling incentives for the use of credit and debit cards By Prokopis Hatzinikolaou Any transaction in excess of 500 euros will soon only be allowed via credit or debit card or by check, according to a plan by the Finance Ministry aimed at combating tax evasion. The ceiling for cash transactions is to be lowered from 1,500 euros today to 500 euros and could be reduced further over in the course of 2013. Ministry sources say that in the first quarter of the new year all companies and certain self-employed individuals will have to obtain the POS (point-of-sale) terminals that provide for card transactions. This forms part of the government’s plan to contain tax evasion and increase state revenues. Ministry officials stress that public revenues can only grow through beating tax evasion, as there can be no more cuts to expenditure except for procurements. The ministry is also making plans to create incentives for taxpayers to use payment cards and checks, either through the return of some money or via bonuses. “The changes we are planning for 2013 include incentives to encourage citizens to use means of electronic payment in order to attain greater transparency in transactions and to combat tax evasion that is facilitated by the use of cash,” Deputy Finance Minister Giorgos Mavraganis told Kathimerini. “As you know, transactions in excess of 1,500 euros are currently not allowed to be conducted in cash. We will have to review this limit and generally we must see how we can make it easier for Greeks to change their years-long habit of paying for goods and services in cash and instead use other means of payment. This is a problematic situation in our country that has to change, albeit without upsetting social cohesion,” the deputy minister added. Although the government is determined to move ahead swiftly with legislation that will make it obligatory to use payment cards for transactions, it has not yet decided on the incentives to encourage taxpayers to do so. “Rewards to citizens who use electronic means of payment as a rule are in other countries provided through gifts or money. We still have to examine certain issues pertaining to European Union legislation and we will have to think very hard about how forms of bonuses in transactions have worked in other countries,” Mavraganis noted. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_29/12/2012_476361 Strike halts metro, ISAP on Jan. 1 There will be no service on the Athens metro and Kifissia-Piraeus electric railway (ISAP) on the first day of 2013 due to a strike by staff protesting pay cuts. The 24-hour walkout tomorrow will affect ISAP and the metro, but buses, trolley buses and the tram are to run a restricted service. Metro and ISAP staff are to return to work on Wednesday when the restricted service that applies on weekends and public holidays will be in force. Public transport will clock out an hour earlier than usual on New Year’s Eve.