Tag: Greece

  • Ex- Greece minister faces tax probe

    Ex- Greece minister faces tax probe

    Greek members of parliament have voted to launch a criminal investigation into ex-Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou.

    He is accused of tampering with a list of suspected tax evaders with Swiss bank accounts.

    Three of Mr. Papaconstantinou’s relatives were removed from the list.

    BBC says he has denied involvement.

    But MPS voted against extending the probe to another ex-finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, and former PMs Lucas Papademos and George Papandreou.

    The scandal centres on a list of names, provided in 2010 to the Greek government by then French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, who is now head of the International Monetary Fund.

    The “Lagarde list”, as it has become known, contained the names of over 2,000 Greeks who held Swiss bank accounts, and who may not have paid tax on all their income.

    But the Pasok (Socialist Party) government of the time took no action and later claimed to have lost the list.

    It later re-emerged, after a journalist published it, but the later version did not include Mr. Papaconstantinou’s relatives, reports say.

    He has said the case against him has been fabricated.

    The opposition leftist Syriza party had also wanted Pasok leader Mr. Venizelos, who succeeded Mr. Papaconstantinou as finance minister, to be investigated for failing to pursue the case.

     

  • EU extends Greece budget deadline

    EU extends Greece budget deadline

    Eurozone ministers have agreed to give Greece two more years, until 2016, to meet its deficit-reduction targets, BBC reports.

    However, the finance ministers delayed a decision on releasing the latest 31.5bn euro (£25.2bn; $40bn) tranche of bailout funds.

    Differences also emerged among Greece’s lenders on how to make its debt sustainable into the next decade.

    Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, has warned that without the new funds Greece will run out of money within days.

    The ministers meeting in Brussels endorsed a proposal to extend from 2014 to 2016 a deadline for Greece to reduce its budget deficit, as demanded by international lenders.

    The proposal was contained in a report for the ministers which also said the extension would add 32.6bn euros to the cost of the bailout.

    The ministers will meet again on November 20 to discuss releasing the latest instalment of bailout funds.

    The 31.5bn-euro tranche will first have to be approved by some national parliaments, including Germany’s.

    Greece had been pushing for the funds after passing a tough budget for 2013, including further cuts to pensions and wages, in a vote on Sunday night.

    More than 10,000 people joined demonstrations outside Greece’s parliament on Sunday to protest against the cuts.