Greece bowed to Spanish blackmail and granted immunity to three former members of the country’s privatization agency. Right after the Eurogroup agreement last week, Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guintos had threatened to block the disbursement of 8.5 billion euro bailout tranche, if the ex HRADF members would not be granted immunity.
“If there’s not a definitive solution for the situation of these three experts, the Eurogroup will block the payment,” de Guindos said in Luxemburg.
Three advisers from Spain, Italy and Slovakia who advised Greece’s privatization agency. They were charged in 2015 in relation to a sale and lease-back deal involving 28 state-owned buildings.
On Wednesday, privatization agency HRADF asked the country’s Supreme Court to cancel an appeals court ruling that imposed the charges and called for a new hearing instead, court officials said, according to Reuters.
In its request, the privatisation agency said the three advisers had been granted immunity effective from 2016, based on a law that Greece’s parliament passed last year.
In 2015, a Greek prosecutor charged three officials at the country’s privatisation agency over a sale and lease-back deal of 28 state-owned buildings.
Greek corruption prosecutors raised charges against 6 members of the Greek Privatization Fund TAIPED for the sale of 28 public assets. Three of those members are Greeks, the other three from Italy, Spain and Slovakia appointed by the Eurogroup. The six have been investigated for the period 2013-2014.
The six are suspected of “the crime of infidelity” and the “non beneficial use” of 28 state properties.
According to prosecutor, the Greek state suffered losses totaling €575,856,504.
The case referred to two auctions won by two private companies. The auctions was worth a total of €2611,310,000. The contracts were signed in May 2014 and the Greek state had to lease the properties back for twenty years in order to cover housing needs for public services. The leasing price for the Greek state was €25,589,800 for the first year alone. The Greek state had to pay lease also properties that remained empty or half-empty, with the loss being €6,661,678.
PS three EU members states shamelessly intervened in justice matters of another EU-member state thus extorting Greece’s financial needs. In my village we’d call it a ‘scandal’, in Brussels they call it ‘EU solidarity.’
And in my language I call it treason punishable by death for the sub-human scum(s) who succumbed to the blackmail. Needless to say, once you are beautifully protected with immunity you arrange privately the price with the buyer, then you fix it so that the colony gets half and the other half goes to your and your buddies’ pockets. Who is going to stop you? I wonder: did the Spaniard “Minister” get his share too in the loot??????????????
So….not only does the EU have little respect for national democracy, they also have little respect for national laws as well. And you still want to be a member of this ‘club??
Are you guys joking me? If Greece hadn’t ruined it’s economy, it would not have to sell its assets so cheap!
If it is anyone who should be prosecuted, it is Greek politicians for economic mismanagement, namely Mr Andreas Papandreou who got the ‘party’ started!
Syrizee, all of Europe (+ the US) has mismanaged economies (eg. see public&private debt levels). Greece is basically used as a austerity guinea pig, by monetary & political federalists.
So Spain admits its criminality – since there is no need for immunity unless a crime has been committed.
Just watch, an outgoing SYRIZA will be asking for immunity too….as did the earlier ND and PASOK criminals.