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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-04-20
CONTENTS
[01] Prosecutor presses felony charges against former central banker
and Piraeus Bank head
[01] Prosecutor presses felony charges against former central banker
and Piraeus Bank head
An economic prosecutor on Thursday brought felony charges against the
former Bank of Greece (BoG) governor George Provopoulos, the former
Piraeus Bank chairman Michalis Sallas and a number of executives from
both banks on Thursday, for actions in 2009 that harmed the reserves
of pension funds.
The charges against Provopoulos are repeated breach of trust, in
conjunction with the aggravating circumstances of the law against state
embezzlers, and moral instigation in the breach of trust for Sallas. Among
the other executives being charged, is the then vice president of Piraeus
Bank's board and current CEO of Attica Bank Theodoros Pantalakis.
The charges were called by economic prosecutor Panagiotis Athanasiou
after an investigation conducted by deputy economic prosecutor Eleni
Michalopoulou, who stated that, the central bank, during the disputed
period, didn't protect as he ought to have done, the reserves of the
pension funds (which are managed by the central bank), resulting in the
loss of millions of euros in favour of Piraeus Bank.
Michalopoulou said the BoG traded titles solely with Piraeus Bank,
which meant the latter benefited from a beneficial restructuring of its
portfolio, while pension fund reserves were hurt, or at least risked
as a result of the process. Following this exchange, the launching of
a bond swap program with the private sector aimed at reducing Greece's
debts – known as the PSI – the funds lost a further 53.5 percent of
their value, while Piraeus Bank benefited, as the bonds it bought were
not included in the PSI.
An investigative magistrate has taken over the case.
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