Former Greek FinMin deposited money overseas fearing Greece's financial instability

Former Greek Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis admitted on Monday that he deposited some of his money overseas in recent years out of concerns over financial instability in the debt-laden country.

"I did what most Greeks did. I transferred an amount of money abroad to be able to financially support my children amidst fears that the country could collapse," Hardouvelis told local media after it was revealed that in May and June 2012 he transferred sums via e-banking.

At the time, Greece was holding double general elections which had increased fears of an imminent default.

Hardouvelis, who served under the previous conservative-led government as finance minister from June 2014 until this January's general elections, stressed that the funds in question were declared, taxed, and there was nothing illegal about his transactions.

The former finance minister, who also served as chief economic consultant of former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, did not clarify how much money was transferred to Britain.

The Syriza government's spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis said that according to the Minister of State for Combating Corruption, Panagiotis Nikoloudis, Hardouvelis made a total of 56 transactions ranging from 7,000 to 9,800 euros (about 7,597 to 10,635 U.S. dollars).

The former finance minister claimed he did so because there was a-10,000-euro ceiling for online transactions.

Sakellaridis said the actual ceiling set by his bank was 50,000 euros, noting that bank transactions above the 10,000 euro ceiling trigger auditing mechanisms by the Bank of Greece.

The government spokesman stressed that there was fertile ground for questions since the money was sent to a bank on Jersey island, which is considered as one of the most significant tax havens worldwide. Endit