The Lagarde List

[PaddyJoe]

This story has been floating around for a bit and may have popped up in the Greece threads already. Looks like it is getting a lot more prominence in the international media this weekend so it might just warrant a new thread.

Published: October 27, 2012
ATHENS — The speaker of the Greek Parliament, several employees of the finance ministry and a number of business leaders are on a list of more than 2,000 Greeks said to have accounts in a Swiss bank, according to a respected investigative magazine. The Greek magazine, Hot Doc, published the list on Saturday, raising the stakes in a heated battle over which current and former Greek government officials had seen the original list passed on by France two years ago — and whether they had used it to check for possible tax evasion.

Hot Doc said its version of the list matches the one that Christine Lagarde, then the French finance minister and now the head of the International Monetary Fund, had given her Greek counterpart in 2010 to help Greece crack down on rampant tax evasion as it was trying to steady its economy. The 2,059 people on the list are said to have had accounts in a Geneva branch of HSBC.

Questions about the handling of the original list reached a near frenzy in Athens last week as two former finance ministers were pressed to explain why the government appeared to have taken no action on the list. The subject has touched a nerve among average Greeks at a time when the Parliament is expected to vote on a new 13.5 billion euro austerity package that could further reduce their standards of living.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/wo..._r=2&ref=world

[Ephilant]

the editor of Hot Doc was arrested this morning on charges of "violating privacy"...

[Andrew49]

Each rathrer large thumbnail brings up a readable page.

LINK

http://www.protothema.gr/files/1/201...lista/p10.jpeg

[PaddyJoe]

" Breach of privacy"
Useful concept, that old breach of privacy.

A Greek journalist has been arrested after publishing a list of about 2,000 Greeks who hold accounts with the HSBC bank in Switzerland.

Kostas Vaxevanis has been charged with breach of privacy.

Mr Vaxevanis says the list he published is the same one that was given by the then French finance minister Christine Lagarde to her Greek counterpart.

Some of those named, said to include many prominent Greeks, are suspected of using the accounts for tax evasion.

The list was originally leaked by an HSBC employee and then handed over by Ms Lagarde to Greek authorities two years ago, according the the AFP news agency.

Since then, successive Greek governments have been accused of trying to cover it up.

"Instead of arresting the tax evaders and the ministers who had the list in their hands, they're trying to arrest the truth and freedom of the press," Mr Vaxevanis said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20116548

[Ephilant]

The court case is postponed until Nov 1st. According to the prosecution, to facilitate

Individuals whos name appears on the list to testify against the accused

His defense maintains this is a political st-up to protect those how have been named from furhter procescution. It is suspected that if a conviction can be had here, that that would almost certainly safeguard those on the list and who testify in this case, from future prosecution. If the conviction can somehow be twisted to include publication of false information....

[jpc]

And no doubt there is a similar Irish list out there.
Just haven't heard it yet.

[Ephilant]

Wasn't there a list of about 15 people or so who reputedly owned (and probably owed) billions between them to Anglo, or does my memory not serve me well on this occasion?

[PaddyJoe]

Wasn't there a list of about 15 people or so who reputedly owned (and probably owed) billions between them to Anglo, or does my memory not serve me well on this occasion?

Tom Lyons:

New information has revealed for the first time the top 13 borrowers of the former Anglo Irish Bank, which is now called IBRC.

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/bu...#ixzz2AiggIYZN

[Frankie Lee]

I'd like to know who held deposits in Anglo Irish Austria. Also Ansbacher was never properly dealt with.

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Oddly enough, the bank that was operating in Ireland without a license (Ansbacher) became an Anglo Irish subsidiary and was on the list of subsidiary companies in the group at least until 2007/2008 as far as I know. Highly likely it is still a subsidiary of the rebranded Anglo entity IBRC.

The one thing I can say with absolute certainty is that the 600million euros sloshing around in Anglo Irish Bank Austria AGs accounts definitely belonged to eastern European wealth funds.

The bank that bought that subsidiary made an announcement via their lawyers in Vienna that they were delighted with the purchase as it increased their profile with eastern European wealth management.

Fitz and co paid a bonus to Valartis, the purchasing bank, to take it off Anglo's hands quickly. This is at at a time when Anglo hadn't declared the true state of affairs at the bank when they were screaming for any kind of liquidity- and they sold off 600million euros so fast it was extremely suspicious.

I look forward to the non-investigation of that little maneouver by Irish authorities on the weak premise that the subsidiary's books are abroad somewhere now and Godot like 'rien pas' (Nothing done).

Even though Anglo/IBRC are obliged to keep records for up to seven years for that subsidiary even after it was sold. They won't 'know' that.

[Ephilant]

Christine Lagarde is, since yesterday, Honorary Doctor of the University of Leuven, one of the oldest and until yesterday respected educational institutions in Europe.
She received the honour for her

strong leadership and exceptional macro-economic vision

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

I suspect it is because she's brilliant at oral sex. Or so I hear. In case of any legal issues I'd just like to confirm for mods that there is actually no evidence available anywhere to say Christine Lagarde has either given or received oral sex, ever.

Hope that suffices.

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Update on the Kostas Vaxevanes arrest;

'The Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe expressed concern about the Vaxevanis's brief arrest on Sunday. "I am relieved that Vaxevanis was released from custody after a brief detention, and trust that he will now be tried in a transparent manner considering the acute public interest in the case," OSCE media freedom representative Dunja Mijatovic said.

"It is the responsibility of media as the watchdog of democracy to disclose information in the public interest, even if it is considered sensitive by some." http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...-press-freedom

The article contains a wider examination of the dropping of journalists from TV station presentation in Greece and their replacement with people who tow the official line.

Apparently some 250 journalists were present when Vaxevanis was released from custody yesterday and he was given a spontaneous round of applause.

[Dr. FIVE]

Trial today, amazing how fast justice moves in some cases isn't it?

In Ancient Greek mythology, justice is presented as blind. In modern Greece, it is merely winking and nodding... justice remains in thrall to
politics.

"We will endure this. Will they?"

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe...106559795.html

[Ephilant]

When the going gets tough, the elite stick together...

A parliamentary vote was held on calling Ex Pm Papandreou in relation to the Lagarde list. SYRIZA MP Zoe Constantopoulou claimed to have information linking Papandreou to the list and wanted to roast him on this. As an ex PM, he has of course life long immunity, which can only be lifted by parliament. The SYRIZA motion was defeated by a combined vote of ND, PASOK, Independent Greeks and a good few DIMAR representatives. Golden Dawn was not present , so proceedings remained civil.
Zoe Constantopoulou has now threatened to hand her information to the press. Looks like we can expect more journalist being arrested soon.