Innocent Paul Polakis for recording his conversation with Giannis Stournaras

Innocent due to doubts, he was judged on Tuesday (21.01.2025) by the former Deputy Minister of Health, for the recording of the telephone communication he had in February 2019 with the Governor of Bank of Greece, . Pavlos Polakis sat on the stand of the Athens Court of First Instance for the complaint made to him by Giannis Stournaras, as the latter argued, the conversation was recorded without being aware. CORVERSE The president announcing the court’s reasoning called on John Stournara who was present in the courtroom, to come forward to listen. “The content of the conversation is “dead”, it does not contain anything unfavorable at your expense. This means it had no benefit in recording it, so doubts, innocent,” the president of the court announced. “It emerged from the evidence procedure that the defendant with a witness had a phone conversation. There was no explicit consent to record, no further doubt that there was any record. The discharge due to doubts,” said the prosecutor of the seat, whose proposal the court also adopted. The governor of the bank of Greece, Giannis Stournaras, who did not proceed with a performance statement in support of the charge in the case, also testified in the trial. Mr. Stournaras described that the incident occurred on 17 February 2019 when he was informed by the head of his office that Paul Polakis is asking for his phone. “He said hello I am Mr. Polakis let me register. I told him you were kidding, it’s illegal. We had a dialogue about a loan he had taken. He told me “to control other politicians,” testified Giannis Stournaras. The central banker then reported that he called Alekos Flambouraris and informed him while in a short time the dialogue was published in documento. President: When you told him you were joking and it was illegal behavior, did you tell him you didn’t consent? Witness: I told him you’d be kidding, and I suggest you don’t… President: Did you have any other communication? Witness: No President: What is his purpose? Witness: Threaten me and intimidated to stop control of his loan. President: Did you have another incident with the defendant? Witness: From the start, when I was in the central bank, he blamed me, my wife. President: When he contacted you, were there no bad criminal precedents? Witness: No. In response to a question from the defense Mr. Stournaras said that the central bank controls a loan with a prosecutor’s order, with Paul Polakis reacting from the stand and saying “Why did you check it?” “I didn’t tell him that I would record him. Am I a man who’s also a minister and I call him and threaten him already? And while I have threatened him, the line is cut twice and he raises it to me already?” Paul Polakis asked in his apology, denying the charge. “It was not a private conversation, I took him as a citizen,” Paul Polakis added. President: Did the record make any sense? Nope. President: Did you tell him you were recording him? No President: To Mr. Vaxevan, are they delivered orally? Accused: Sure.