Prosecutions for the Lagarde list

The authorities that are investigating the Lagarde list case appear to be a step before the first criminal prosecutions even to a felony degree.

After almost 10 months from the time SDOE received the list, there has been evasion amounting to several million euros from several prominent businessmen who had several million in deposits at HSBC in Geneva and which are not justified by their tax statements of the previous years.

However, despite the fact that these entrepreneurs were summoned by SDOE, most of them did not show up, which has infuriated the Greek authorities. "It is impossible that some known businessmen keep hiding behind their lawyers and the fact that they are known in Greek society and avoid appearing before the authorities for questioning," SDOE officials say.

Greek law allows SDOE agents to interrogate any taxpayer and to order their arrest but also to any Greek resident of the country a five days deadline to appear before the Financial Crime Unit to present their views. In case they do not show up then their case file will be passed by SDOE to the relevant prosecution authorities.

A judicial source told protothema.gr that "it is certain they will be persecuted for tax evasion. But because the money was the product of tax evasion and was deposited in a foreign bank (HSBC) the law provides that they may be persecuted for money laundering which is a felony act in duration."

The entrepreneurs who have been targeted by the controllers of the Financial Crime Unit are more than 30, some of which are foreign residents.