Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-04-08
CONTENTS
[01] Swiss banker held in custody after testifying before corruption
prosecutors
[01] Swiss banker held in custody after testifying before corruption
prosecutors
ANA-MPA - Swiss banker Jean-Claude Oswald was detained pending trial
after testifying on Wednesday before two prosecutors on separate cases
involving money laundering and kickbacks in armaments procurement
contracts.
Oswald, a former officer of Dresdner and BNP Paribas banks, testified
before corruption prosecutors Nikos Tsironis and Vassiliki Brati. He is
also named in a third case on money laundering over a contract between
Greek telecoms giant OTE and German-based Siemens, and a contract on
submarines for the Hellenic Navy.
The banker was arrested in the United Arab Emirates on international
warrants and has denied charges, saying he was unaware the money he was
asked to deposit in Swiss and other banks on behalf of Greek clients
came from illegal activities.
In his testimony before Tsironis over armaments procured from German-based
Wegmann, Oswald appeared to have promised he would look for and turn over
to investigators a list of his Greek clients, although he noted that a
company official serving under him, Fanis Lyginos, also a defendant in
the case, had more contact with them.
According to sources, he said that he was not interested in the origin
of payments deposited in banks and that the Swiss banking system has
"loose rules" about its clients, in order to provide services they could
not find in other countries.
After completing his testimony before Tsironis, Oswald testified before
Brati, the prosecutor for the Ericsson contract on radars.
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