The other day, I returned home from the beach. It was quite late, short before 8 o’ clock in the evening. I switched the television on for the prime time news of one of private channels, the volume rather high and headed for a shower. Eight o’ clock sharp, the news started with one of the winners of the four TV licenses: Christos Kalogritsas. I washed my hair, had a shower, put a beauty mask on my face, got dressed, wnet to the kitchen to prepare some dinner …and the TV channel was still reporting about Kalogritsas, his finances and loans and collateral submitted to win the licenses and whether he was eligible to keep the license he had won.
I have not seen Greek journalists digging so deep and to the last detail into the finances of a local businessman and his business partners since the …hm… 1980’s?
Opposition parties jointed the anti-Kalogritsas campaign, with New Democracy cheering with the loudest voice “Left-wing corruption!”
Kalogritsas, owner of a construction group, is known to be politically close to SYRIZA, to have friendly relations with Transportation Minister Spyros Spirtzis (ex PASOK turned into SYRIZA) and to be best-man of Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, chairman of junior coalition partner Independent Greeks (ANEL).
The War against Kalogritsa started ever since the TV license bid concluded and has been been going on for a couple of weeks, reached its peak in the last 5-6 days and is being carried out mainly by two private TV channels that did not win a TV license as well as by several websites and newspapers.
The last hole in Kalogritsas’ pants has been turned inside out and thoroughly screened.
In the last 20 months, “he took loans worth 77.6 million euros from the Attica Bank,” Proto Thema writes under the title “Sinister relations between Kalogritsas and Attica Bank” and notes “from a total 127.6 million euros loans from the Attica Bank, 77.6 million were given in the 20 months SYRIZA has been in power. 50 million in 2015 and 22.6 million in 2016. On 27. June, he received a 15 million loan that has been illegally used for the TV license bid.”
Today, the Attica Bank said that “Kalogritsas’ loans are being served.” At the same time, the new board of the Attica Bank announced that it will not give loans to media enterprises.
Pressure here and revelations there, Greek authorities seem to have admitted that they have been investigating Christos Kalogritsas for alleged tax evasion since last year.
Kathimerini notes that “Christos Kalogritsasis being probed for an alleged 20-million-euro discrepancy between his deposits and tax declarations. His details were probed as part of a wider investigation. He faces charges of tax evasion and money laundering unless he can explain the provenance of these deposits.”
The investigation has apparently not concluded yet.
However, also his son, Ioannis Vladimiros Kalogritsas, the winner of the TV license, “was also investigated over deposits worth 4 million euros, which were not accounted for in a declaration detailing the source of his wealth. The younger businessman was able to settle his debts to the state before the TV license auction, closing the probe against him,” Kathimerini writes.
I may have missed some points of the reporting. In fact my mind has been able to process only a couple key points from this information bombardment because a) the issue is tiring and b) I have other things to do in my life than focusing on Kalogritsas whose name I heard for the first time when the TV license bid candidates were announced.
Therefore I have one question: why should the son be deprived of the TV license, should his father been found guilty of tax evasion? Ah! Me, clever Greek! Because his father poured the money into his son’s company!?
A friend of mine, a New Democracy supporter, was telling me earlier today, when he rang me 7 o’ clock sharp when another private TV channel that has not won a TV license opened its prime time news with… Kalogritsas, of course.
The friend told me that “The Kalogritsas – Gate has turned into the joke of the nation.”
PS I just wrote down this post on Kalogritsas for the sake of KTG’s records
You forgot to mention:
“Christos Kalogritsas’ construction firm, Toxotis S.A., is the recipient of numerous state contracts issued by the Syriza-led government for public works projects throughout Greece.
Toxotis S.A. recently purchased Medousa, a competing construction firm. It was formerly known as Tsipras ATE and owned by Pavlos Tsipras, father of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.”