The trial for the case of “black funds” of Siemens

H sensational case of “black funds” of Siemens enters today in the microscope of the Three-member court of Appeals Felonies…
Eleven years after the initiation of the investigation by the Greek justice for bribes and illegal payments of millions of euro and after the case was passed by forty-waves reaches the time of the crisis. After the fiasco of last summer when the judges were forced to indefinitely postpone due to the non-translation of the referral bill in the native language of the foreign defendants in the trial, unless something happens, it starts in the shadow of a possible limitation of the offences faced by the accused.
Before the justice called upon to provide explanations of a total of 64 defendants who were allegedly involved in the case involving “illegal payments” in the context of a contract between Siemens and OTE for the supply of digital centres, which was signed in 1997 as former minister Tassos Μαντέλη.
According to the documents before the court that the bribes which were estimated to reach 70 million. euro, amount now is calculated as the damage suffered by the Greek State.
The defendants are facing serious charges involving , where appropriate, the offences of active and passive bribery, in combination with the aggravating provisions for abusers of the public and the laundering of dirty money. However, the alleged great protagonist of the case Michael Χριστοφοράκος will be the great absentee. The once-powerful man in Siemens Greece, at the expense of which has been issued a warrant of arrest , it is located in Munich and will be represented by defense counsel.
The stand will be absent and Christos Καραβέλας, former cfo of Siemens, who is still missing since 2009.
The only political person who is in the dock – for Tasos Μαντέλη has a separated case – it’s the erstwhile general of PASOK Theodoros Τσουκάτος, who, according to the category, gradually and on the accounts of surrogate persons has received an amount of 450.000 euros working as an intermediary, then a high-ranking executive of Siemens, Michael Χριστοφοράκου, in order to allocate the money to the then executives of OTE. However, mr Τσουκάτος it has been argued that the contested amount was given by Siemens as a donation to PASOK.
Among the 64 defendants in the case included the name of the former financial director of the company in Germany who committed suicide last year, and is expected to be filed, the death certificate of the as and two more former executives of the parent company who have gone from life.
Specifically for the case on the stand referred to :
– 19 accused of active corruption with the aggravating circumstance of the law 1608/50 on abusers of the State, which draws a criminal to life imprisonment as well as for laundering of proceeds from illegal activity.
– 14 defendants, former executives of OTE for passive bribery, also with the law 1608/50 and for laundering of proceeds from illegal activity.
– 8 defendants, officials of a consulting firm for simple complicity in passive corruption
– 14 defendants, for direct complicity in passive corruption and laundering of proceeds from illegal activity
– 8 defendants, for direct complicity in active bribery and laundering of proceeds from illegal activity and end
– 1 defendant -husband on the lam Christos Caravel – for laundering of proceeds from illegal activity.
Among the persons invited to address the judges of the Three-member court of Appeals Felonies are the once advisor to the former prime minister Kostas Simitis Theodore Τσουκάτος for the case of one million dm. Accounting officer, and also for a number of years Managing director and subsequently head of the Supervisory Board of the German colossus Heinrich Von Πίρερ and the former executives of the ΖΗΜΕΝΣ Elias George, Prodromos Mavridis, Volker Γιούγκ , Reinhardt Σίκατσεκ ,Michael Κουτσενρόιτερ, Emmanuel Stavrianos , etc., as the fugitives Michael Χριστοφοράκος and Christos Καραβέλας. Also the former executives of OTE mr. George Skarpelis, Athanasios Γρεβενίτης, Nicholas Μανασής, Sotiris Tzoumas etc. Individuals, brokers entrepreneurs etc., George Καλδής, Athanasios Rammos, Basil Τυρογαλάς etc. The defendants are also the two bank officials Fanis Λυγινός and Jean-Claude Oswald.