An interim probe by PWC into the finances of beleaguered Folli Follie group reportedly points to an “intercession” by three to four former ministers of the previous SYRIZA government in favor of the apparel and jewelry retailer.
The report has been conveyed to a relevant Athens prosecutor in charge of the investigation into felony charges against former FF executives, including the company’s founder and his son, the one-time CEO.
If evidence of possible wrongdoing arise against office-holders, then the file will be transferred to Parliament for a possible vote by the plenum on lifting the latter’s parliamentary immunity.
In an immediate reaction to press leaks of the probe, two former SYRIZA ministers and an ex-deputy – Alekos Flambouraris, Alexis Haritsis and Stavros Arahovitis – categorically denied any involvement in the FF investigation. Haritsis was elected as a deputy in the July 2019 election from Messinia prefecture, while Flambouraris re-entered Parliament by being placed in a top position in SYRIZA state deputies list, meaning he did not stand in a constituency. Arahovitis was re-elected from Laconia prefecture.
Another name that was repeatedly cited in the press reports is ex-deputy Makis Balaouras, who was linked with campaign support provided by the company, and after a favorable amendment was passed in Parliament during his tenure as chairman of the legislature’s standing committee for economic affairs.
The first politician, in fact, said he does not know any of the former executives of the company and has never spoken to them.
The trio also warned that they will seek recourse to the courts if reports implicating them in attempts to stall or hinder the judicial probe, focusing on investor fraud and corporate mismanagement by FF’s primary shareholders and management, persist.
