Public trust in Greek politicians falls even lower following Siemens scandal report

ΤΡΕΛΕΣ ΕΚΠΤΩΣΕΙΣ ΣΕ ΟΛΕΣ ΤΙΣ ΜΙΖΕΣ ΣΤΟ PASOK SALES, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Yesterday the Greek parliament released its long awaited report on the Siemen bribery scandal. According to the authors of the report the German electronic giant poured millions of euros into the party coffers of both PASOK and New Democracy when they were in power. In return the Greek government granted Siemens lucractive contracts which are said to have incurred additional costs in the region of two billion euros.

As expected report has become a political football with parties making five different sets of recommendations over who is to blame and which poiliticians should be investigated further. The reality of the situation is that whatever happens there is little or no chance that anyone will go to jail. Once again the political leadership has proved that it is unwilling or unable to police its own no matter how how serious the charges. Instead it is reduced to playing power games which are convincing fewer and fewer voters who believe that the country is run by a deeply corrupt, moral bankrupt elite. The report coming just after one concerning the Vatopedi land swap scandal will do little to convince many of the honesty of politicians whose popularity rating are reaching record lows.

Δεκάδες Ελληνες υπουργοί συνιστούν την Siemens - Dozens of Greek ministers recommend Siemens

Δεκάδες Ελληνες υπουργοί συνιστούν την Siemens - Dozens of Greek minister recommend Siemens, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

ξέπλυμα χρήματος μέχρι και στο μισό χρόνο.
Αυτόματη αναγνώριση όλων των κομμάτων


Launder your money in half the time or less!
Automatic recognition of all parties.

Yet another political scandal gets swept under the carpet by the Greek parliament. Today it was the Siemens corruption case involving accusations that the company spent millions in bribes to PASOK and New Democracy party officials in return for contracts for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

ΠΑΣΟΚ - Με την ευγενική χορηγία της Ζίμενς

ΠΑΣΟΚ - Με την ευγενική χορηγία της Ζίμενς, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

"Reinhard Siekaczec, a former executive at the German electronics giant, which supplies equipment to Greece’s state telecoms operator, gave damaging testimony at a trial in Munich earlier this year. He said that “commissions” worth 8% of the contract’s value were paid to Greek politicians and senior executives through a network of offshore companies. The total amount exceeded €1 billion, he claimed. Most of it apparently went to officials from Pasok, which held power from 1993 to 2004, but the New Democracy government elected that year approved a contract worth over €40m for security equipment for the Athens Olympics.

Nikos Zagorianos, a prosecutor investigating the Siemens affair, is shortly to go to Germany. One former Pasok official, Theodoros Tsoukatos, has admitted that he accepted €400,000 from the local Siemens boss as an election contribution in 1999, when he was a prime ministerial aide responsible for collecting political donations. Amid the furore, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a New Democracy deputy who is the son of a former prime minister, recently paid an overlooked bill for a switchboard that was supplied to his private office by Siemens, after a copy of the invoice was printed in a Greek newspaper."

http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12209248

Siemens is proud to sponsor New Democracy

Siemens is proud to sponsor New Democracy, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

"The warrant for Christos Karavellas, Siemens' former financial manager in Greece, was issued after he failed to appear in court as scheduled on Friday. Karavellas' lawyer claimed his client was abroad and sought to postpone the testimony, the source added.

German industrial giant Siemens is accused of bribing local politicians and officials from Greek telephone operator OTE to bag a multi-million-dollar contract before the
Athens Olympic Games in 2004.

An arrest warrant was also issued on May 20 for the group's former Greek operations director Michalis Christoforakos, who is believed to be in Munich. Greek officials are labouring to have Christoforakos extradited.

Two more suspects, former Siemens executive Ilias Georgiou and OTE's former telecommunications general manager George Skarpelis, who are scheduled to testify in mid-June, have been barred from leaving the country.

The paybacks scandal rocked Greece for months and both the ruling party of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and the main opposition PASOK socialists are accused of taking bribes.

A former PASOK official admitted in June to having accepted 1 million German marks (around €510,000 $720,000) from Siemens in 2000, on behalf of the party when it was in power.

The Siemens scandal erupted in late 2006 and shook the group to its core. The sprawling conglomerate has acknowledged that millions of euros were funnelled into various funds used to obtain foreign contracts, and that the practice was widespread across its numerous divisions."

http://www.thelocal.de/money/20090529-19599.html

The riot police at the 28th October parade, Thessaloniki

The riot police at the 28th October parade, Thessaloniki, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Hundreds of riots cops made sure that workers from the recently closed Siemens factory didn't spoil the traditional 28th October "Oxi" parade. God forbid, the politicians present should be made to look bad.

General strike and marches

General strike and marches, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

To protest the Greek government's policies on pension rights, privatisation and the Siemens and Zaxolpoulos scandals (see here and here) that have rocked the country over the last few weeks.