Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-11-23

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Burial of former president Constantine Stephanopoulos takes place in Patras

[02] The firms Aktor and Mochlos to be charged with forming 'cartel' to bid for state contracts

[03] Prosecutors reject infrastructure minister's lawsuit against Digea

[01] Burial of former president Constantine Stephanopoulos takes place in Patras

The president's body arrived in a coffin covered with a Greek flag and escorted by a military honour guard from all three branches of the armed forces, as well as a military band. Following a service attended by the late president's children and grandchildren, the coffin was put on public view for the mourners that came to pay their last respects.

An honour guard fired into the air just before the coffin was lowered into the ground while the gathered crowds clapped.

A funeral for Stephanopoulos was held on Tuesday in the Athens district of Paleo Psychiko, with head of state honours and a 21-gun salute from Lycabettus Hill. The former president died in an Athens hospital on Sunday night at the age of 90, due to complications caused by pneumonia.

[02] The firms Aktor and Mochlos to be charged with forming 'cartel' to bid for state contracts

The two companies allegedly came to an agreement on prices prior to submitting bids in a tender for works to extend the quay at the Thessaloniki Port container terminal, as well as to renovate the Omonia-Monastiraki section of the electric railway in Athens.

Sources said the evidence against the two companies includes letters exchanged by their executives between 2008 and 2012, which show that Mochlos SA agreed to pull out after winning the contracts in both tenders, where it had submitted the lowest bids, so that Aktor might take over. Aktor had submitted the second and third-lowest bids in the two tenders.

The case against the two companies has been assigned to an examining magistrate, who will decide which charges to press against individual suspects.

The investigation was ordered by Greece's corruption prosecutor, who was acting on evidence reported by the Competition Commission indicating "cartel-type collaboration between large construction firms, that for the last 27 years had 'manipulated' public works' tenders." The Competition Commission file included evidence implicating several firms in dozens of projects.

Among the practices that the firms allegedly engaged in were to reach agreement in advance on who will win the contract in each tender, deciding the amount of discounts they would offer and not submitting offers in tenders in exchange for financial reward or the opportunity to participate in the project anyway, as well as jointly completing projects for which they appeared as competitors.

[03] Prosecutors reject infrastructure minister's lawsuit against Digea

Spirtzis imputed to the members of the National Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) a series of irregularities and illegal acts dating from 2012 in the tender procedures for rights to digital frequencies.

After examining the case, prosecutors concluded that it must be filed, noting that based on the law provision 4070/2012, if the contractor has a separate legal entity from its franchisors, there is no legal conflict. Therefore the tender and the procedure followed were in line with the relevant laws.

The Appeals prosecutor will now have the final say on whether to file the case or not.

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