Greek ministers under fire over lack of tax checks

Published on 30/10/2012 00:00

Greek authorities say there is no evidence that those included in the list have broken the law, but former ministers have been criticised for failing to make any checks on them.

In testimony before a parliamentary committee last week, George Papaconstantinou, who was finance minister when the list was first handed to Athens, said he gave about 20 names from it to the financial crimes squad for checks.

He also said he gave a CD containing the list to an aide when he stepped down from the post, but that it appeared to have been misplaced.

Evangelos Venizelos, leader of the PASOK Socialists and also a former finance minister, said the financial crime squad chief gave him a USB flash drive containing a list a year ago, but he was not sure if this was the original. Earlier this month, Venizelos said he had handed the drive to prime minister Antonis Samaras when he realised no other copy existed.

The Samaras government has not commented publicly on the list. An official said that looking into the list was the job of the justice system as the flash drive had been turned over to investigators. “The Greek government does not interfere with the justice system,” the official said.

Greece, which has been surviving on rescue loans since 2010, has faced persistent criticism from international creditors for failing to effectively limit tax evasion.

European Union Commission spokesman Simon O’Connor declined to comment directly about the publisher’s arrest, but said: “All possible cases of tax evasion must be fully investigated.”