Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday expelled Andreas Patsis, MP for Grevena. from ruling New Democracy’s (ND) parliamentary group. Reason for his expulsion is that as an MP has had a company -an offshore – that had bought “red loans from bank at 1/5 of their values. Further more, he was representing a foreign company in Greece that would get contracts from the Hellenic Post, a public company.
- Now journalists and citizens ask: Why did he have to e also a lawmaker and get paid by taxpayers money if he was a successful businessman?
- Journalists note that the issue was known already since the last 2-3 tears.
The expulsion followed public complaint by SYRIZA MP and former deputy Health Minister, Pavlos Polakis.
Polakis revealed that ND MP Patsis, as the owner of foreign special purpose companies, he bought “red” loans from banks amounting to 62 million euros for only 4.3 million euros. .
According to Polakis
– In 2010, with a Cypriot, Patsis he created the special purpose company “PLATON S.A. Debt Securitization”, with a share capital of only €60,000
– In 2011, through the company, he bought from Piraeus Bank “red” loans total worth €62,771,892 paying a total price of €4,300,000 that was actually paid to the bank with deposit in Piraeus.
“Where and how did Patsis’ company find more than 4 million to buy the loans from Piraeus?” asked Polakis the first obvious question.
And the next bee: “How much money has Patsis’ company collected from the €63,000,000 loans it has bought? Has he done any auctions?
The SYRIZA MP noted also that “Patsis’ company never published Balance Sheets in the General Electronic Commercial Registry (GEMI), so that its inflows and outflows can be seen and thus the course of the money it handles and manages.”
And finally, he concluded that “In the last Board of Directors of his company published in GEMI and expiring in 2021, Patsis has not been replaced.”
“Is it legal and ethical for an acting member of the Greek Parliament to be onboard of a company that does auctions and collects from loans it bought t 1/5 of their value?” Polakis added.
Apparently it’s not.
Patsis was asked accordingly to give explanations by party officials. ND sources told media “if it is established that his business activity violates the legality or even the moral rules of the party, it is possible that there will be immediate developments that may even reach the removal of the deputy”
Patsis’ explanations were no adequate and he was expelled by PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the same day.
According to ND announcement, Patsis was expelled because “his explanations regarding his professional activities were judged to be inadequate” and to be “incompatible with the holding of a seat as member of parliament and with New Democracy’s values.”
According to latest media information, Patsis refuses to return his seat to ND and has sent message to his voters in Grevena that he will remain in Parliament as “independent MP.”
Ruling party New Democracy has now 156 seats in a Parliament of 300 and a first scandal scandal on its shoulders.
The CEO of Hellenic Post (ELTA) Gorgio Konstantopoulos has reigned right after the spokesman of SYRIZA Nassos Iliopoulos revealed a few hours later that Patsis company has received “direct assignment” totaling over 1 million euros from the Minister for Digital Governance via the ELTA, news website libre.gr reports late on Tuesday.
According to ELTA the one million euro was paid for “legal counseling.”
Meanwhile:
-Greece’s Privatization Fund to which ELTA belongs also announced the resignation of the Post head.
-Media report that the obligatory “Pothes Eshes” (assets declaration) of the now former ND MP Patsis has not been quite clear in the last couple of years. (details in newspaper documento,gr in Greek)
-SYRIZA demands the resignation of Digital Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis.
PS Kitty claims I should get the pop corn and sit in front of TV.
Will anyone please explain this
“Now journalists and citizens ask: Why did he have to e also a lawmaker and get paid by taxpayers money if he was a successful businessman?
Journalists note that the issue was known already since the last 2-3 tears.”