Greek Editor Not Guilty in Publishing Names With Swiss Accounts

[Judi Lynn]

Source: New York Times

Greek Editor Not Guilty in Publishing Names With Swiss Accounts
By LIZ ALDERMAN
Published: November 1, 2012

ATHENS — The owner and editor of a respected investigative magazine was acquitted Thursday on charges of breaching privacy laws in publishing the names of more than 2,000 Greeks believed to be holding accounts at a bank in Switzerland, in a case that tested news media freedom in Greece and fueled a scandal over whether officials here failed to aggressively pursue people suspected of evading taxes.

The verdict came four days after a phalanx of police arrested the editor, Kostas Vaxevanis, as his magazine, Hot Doc, hit newsstands with the list. Before a packed court, Mr. Vaxevanis and his lawyers portrayed him as the target of a politically motivated campaign aimed at damping the public anger at Greek officials.

The list that Mr. Vaxevanis obtained and published was handed to the Greek authorities two years ago by Christine Lagarde, then the French finance minister and now the head of the International Monetary Fund, to help Greece crack down on tax evasion as it was trying to mend its economy. The list held names of 2,059 Greeks who held accounts at a Geneva branch of the British bank HSBC, which includes a former culture minister, several employees of the Finance Ministry and a number of business leaders.

”The court finds the defendant innocent,” Judge Malia Volika said in handing down the decision.

Mr. Vaxevanis emerged from the packed courtroom to cheers from a large crowd. He hailed the “courage” of the judge, adding: “Journalism for far too long has been a hostage to political forces that don’t allow it to work. This decision sets a precedent that allows my colleagues to do their jobs without political handcuffs.”


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/world/europe/greek-editor-not-guilty-in-publishing-names-with-swiss-accounts.html?_r=0

[snagglepuss]

1. FANTASTIC news. Thanks for posting.

[ck4829]

2. Charged because he embarrassed the government and revealed that it's not doing it's job

K&R

[WorseBeforeBetter]

3. "Journalism for far too long has been a hostage to political forces that don’t allow it to work."

A-fucking-men, Mr. Vaxevanis.

[xtraxritical]

4. I wish it could be done in the US.

IMO almost all congressmen and even SCOTUS judges have anonymous foreign bank accounts that they direct payments for services to.

[Blue_Tires]

5. Good...

I'm reminded of this nausea-inducing story from a few months ago:

Greece's super-rich maintain lavish lifestyles and low profiles

Nearly three years into their country's worst crisis in modern times, life goes on as normal for Greece's super-rich. As the sun sets, oligarchs, shipowners, singers and media stars gather at the Poseidonion hotel on the island of Spetses opposite the little bay. They tuck into a menu that includes pasticcio laced with foie gras. Among them is a middle-aged man in a T-shirt proclaiming: "More is less".

Three days before Greeks cast their ballots in a make-or-break election, their country could not be more divided. Here there is no talk of the pain of crisis – the only topic of conversation elsewhere in Greek society. The destitution and despair of Athens is a world away – and for many quite clearly it is best kept that way.

"Greeks brought this crisis upon themselves," said a London-based shipowner upholding the sector's vow of silence by insisting on anonymity. "They allowed crooks and corruption to prosper."

Almost 100 years after it was built by a tobacco tycoon, the elegant Poseidonion remains the favourite playground for Athenian high society. The former King Constantine, who was schooled on the island, is a frequent visitor. Tonight, as the crowd sits on its terrace sipping cocktails, staff with long-handled brooms clean the bows of their mega-yachts moored in front of the hotel. A tiny pony takes their children – all guarded by nannies – around the plaza. While locals fret that Spetses, already known as the "new Monaco", is at risk of becoming a "club for the rich" there are also obvious payoffs.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/greek-election-blog-2012/2012/jun/13/greeces-super-rich-low-profiles

[JDPriestly]

6. Have the names been published in any English or international media yet?

I'm curious to know whether a certain name is on it.

[Judi Lynn]

7. HOT DOC Journalist Kostas Vaxevanis Acquitted by Athens Court

HOT DOC Journalist Kostas Vaxevanis Acquitted by Athens Court
Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Politics

2 Nov

Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis has been acquitted by an Athens court on Thursday night in a trial that lasted almost ten hours. The prosecutor had raised charges against Vaxevanis for breaching privacy after he published the names of 2,000 suspected tax evaders in his magazine HOT DOC. Vaxevanis was arrested last Sunday.

~snip~
Kostas Vaxevanis said he had published the list because it was his job as a journalist to reveal the truth.

“The three last governments have lied and have made a mockery of the Greek people with this list,” he said.

~snip~
The list Vaxevanis had published is reportedly the infamous Lagarde-List, containing the names of account-holders in HSBC bank, Geneva, Switzerland. It was stolen by ex bank-employee Herve Falciani and was handed to Greek ex finance minister George Papaconstantinou in 2010 by then French finance minister Christine Lagarde.

Papaconstantinou and also his successor Evangelos Venizelos apparently kept the list for two years without taking meaningful action while the country was struggling with bankruptcy, the citizens were burden with heavy taxes and tax evasion is considered as one of the main problems of for the economic situation of Greece. The list contains names of prominent businessmen, one politician but also housewives and students.

More:
http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2012/11/02/hot-doc-journalist-kostas-vaxevanis-acquitted-by-athens-court/

[Javaman]

8. A word of advice to Mr. Kostas Vaxevanis...

stay out of small planes.