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Greek economy minister faces probe over wealth declarations

Xinhua, December 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Greece's Economy Minister Yorgos Stathakis faces a widening investigation into his financial records due to irregularities found in his wealth declarations, according to the results of a preliminary investigation by a special parliamentary committee.

In a press release issued on Friday, Stathakis expressed certainty that all misunderstandings will be cleared, while other government officials backed him.

The parliament's Audit Committee will further investigate the minister's files, after his failure to declare one million euros (about 1.09 million U.S. dollars) in savings in 2011, as well as two bank accounts in 2014 and 38 real estate properties.

Greek politicians, state officials, judges, police officers and journalists among other professionals are obliged by Greek legislation to declare their wealth and justify their income sources on an annual basis in addition to their tax declarations in a bid to address corruption.

Stathakis argued that he did not declare the one million euros because he granted it as a loan to a friend, that the two bank accounts belonged to his mother and that the owner of all the real estate properties was his wife.

Stathakis is not the first minister of the current Left-led administration facing an audit for discrepancies in his declarations. State Minister Alekos Flambouraris is also being audited for similar lapses.

The Radical Left SYRIZA party came in office for the first time in January pledging transparency, integrity and a battle against chronic corruption and widespread tax evasion which have been among key factors behind Greece's debt crisis.

The parliament's Audit Committee investigates at the moment two dozen former MPs and other officials seeking clarifications regarding their wealth declarations.

They include Gikas Hardouvelis who served as Finance Minister last year under the previous conservative government and former Deputy Parliament Speaker Alexis Mitropoulos.

In the case of Mitropoulos' who was elected with SYRIZA in January but was not a candidate in September's snap general elections, after his financial dealings came under scrutiny, an Athens prosecutor on Friday pressed charges against him of tax dodging and money laundering.

Mitropoulos is accused of failing to declare about half a million euros revenues from his work as a law expert 16 years ago.

The former official denies the allegations and in a statement released on Friday claims that he is the victim of a defamation campaign.

Earlier on Friday Greece's Supreme Administrative Audit Court ruled that a total of two million euros which were not properly declared and justified in the declarations of two former ministers should be confiscated. The former socialist Deputy Minister of Education Yannis Anthopoulos and the former conservative Economy Minister Aristeides Tsiplakos were found guilty of tax evasion. (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollars) Endit