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The Institute for Ethics and Economic
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Archbishop vows to
end corruption. The head of the Greek government proposes
tighter media ownership rules. It was reported that MORE KOKKALIS CHARGES. A probe by the Finance Ministry’s
criminal investigation unit (SDOE) resulted in four more criminal charges
against businessman Socrates Kokkalis yesterday, including a felony charge
for fraud. Kokkalis had already been
charged with six other felonies, including bribery and espionage. The new charge of criminal fraud alleges
that he misled investors in his companies Intralot and Intrasoft, and failed
to use the 483 million euros for the purposes he declared in 2000. Kokkalis stated during the investigation
that he thought he had until 2004 to carry out the investments. (Kathimerini
CAUGHT IN THE POLITICAL FALL-OUT OF A GAMBLING SCANDAL,
THE GOVERNMENT DECLARES WAR ON ONE-ARM BANDITS. The government has decided to
crack down on the exploding slot machine industry after several politicians,
including President Costis Stephanopoulos, were linked to illegal gambling
scandals and suspected of being associated with gambling lords. (Athens News,
CLAIMS OF PUBLIC
SECTOR CORRUPTION FROM THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE STATE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
AND REPRESENTATIVES OF SMALL CONSTRUCTION FIRMS Eleftherios Maschopedis, former Hellenic Aerospace Industries
(EAV) president, stated in response to questions by Spilios Spiliiotopoulos,
opposition New Democracy Party member, that overwhelming corruption within
EAV included: extremely low
productivity despite high government subsidies; overpricing of commissioned
products manufactured for the Defense Ministry; seriously flawed
privatization moves; unequal participation in Eurofighter consortium
agreement due to Defense Ministry rejection of agreement; and, questionable
balance sheets of EAV. Also,
widespread corruption and inefficiency of public works sector has been
reported by small construction firm representatives including unfair
competition by selected large firms; under-the-table subcontracting; shell
companies; and poor construction standards. (eKathimerini.com,
TAX EVASION RISING, CORRUPTION BLAMED FOR BRAKING ECONOMY In a study released by the Foundation of Economic and Industrial Research entitled: ‘The Black Economy and Tax Evasion in Greece’, it is estimated that more than 30 percent of the GDP results from activities in the black economy, and is worth 14 to 15 trillion drachmas, an increase from of 26.1 percent in 1960 to 36.7 percent in 1997. The tax system differs from other European countries as it is centralized and politically influenced, therefore many taxpayers conceal significant portions of their money by payments-in-kind. Tax evasion in the building and construction industry through using false receipts and recording false transactions and hours worked is prevalent. Foreign investment is deterred by corruption in public administration. Greece is ranked in 36th place on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, with corruption being most widespread in the health, tax, and town planning areas. (Kathimerini, June 7, 2001, summary by Marg Reynolds). Athens, GREECE TO TIGHTEN UP SUPERVISION OF BANKS The central bank of Greece has stepped up measures to respond to money laundering amid international concern about Greek banks' role in handling funds for Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav president, and his associates. Officials from the Bank of Greece's Supervision Department are examining customer and transaction records at three Greek banks suspected of doing business with Mr. Milosevic. According to the deputy central bank governor, Mr. Panayotis Thomopoulos, "some banks failed to reply to requests for information about accounts held by Yugoslavs and others gave incomplete replies. We have sent in a supervision team to collect details." The new authorities in Belgrade also investigate into the transfer of funds overseas during Mr Milosevic's rule. Nevertheless, Yugoslav central bank governor, Mr. Mladjan Dinkic, says that "we can't find accounts under the name of Slobodan Milosevic and we don't expect to." According to Mr Thomopoulos, the accounts investigated in Greece all appeared to be dormant. "They contained small amounts, a few thousand dollars or drachmas, but it was clear they hadn't been active in the past three or four years," said the Greek deputy central bank governor. Investigations continue in Yugoslavia, Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Switzerland. (Source: Financial Times, March 27, 2001, summary by Pavlidis George).
OPPOSITION LEADER KARAMANLIS REVIVES CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS. Costas Karamanlis, Opposition Leader, has accused the ruling socialist government of having corrupt relations with shady business interests. Karamanlis indicated Socrates Kokkalis, telecommunications and gambling tycoon, as an example and stated lack of transparency – ‘no fault, no explanation, no punishment’ mutilates democracy. (Kithimerini, Feb. 27, 2001, summary by Marg Reynolds).
Athens -GREECE GETS A DUBYA- Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos is forming a new political party. Mr. Avramapoulos appreciates the serious dangers posed to the economic prospects of the country by the massive corruption of the public sector. (DJ Newswires, February 20, 2001)
Athens: Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, or OTE, finished with mild gains of GRD30 to close at GRD7,340. The stock posted some losses in early trading because of rumors, which OTE denied, that it bribed the Romanian government for the purchase of a 35% stake in RomTelecom in 1998. (By Kakia Papadopoulou, Dow Jones Newswires; 301-3312 881; October 27, 2000, kakia.papadopoulou@dowjones.com) The OECD anti-Corruption report The Index of Economic Freedom (by Driscoll-Holmes-Kirkpatrick) for 2001 places Greece in the “Mostly Free” category with a rank of 49 (Ranks range from 1 for Hong Kong to 155 for North Korea, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 1, 2000). H. D. Vinod’s trimmed correlation analysis indicates that countries free from economic regulation are less corrupt. After allowing for some exceptions by 20% trimming, the correlation is near 0.9. |
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Design:
Theo den Brinker |
Copyright:
Hrishikesh D. Vinod 2000 |
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