A council of Athens appellate justices has again ruled – for a third consecutive time – that former Greek statistics authority (EL.STAT) head Andreas Georgiou should not stand trial on single felony charge of making a false statement, a case that has generated very high-profile criticism by European leaders and negative international press.
The “false statement” in this case stems from the politically inflammatory allegation that he intentionally inflated the 2009 budget deficit in order to precipitate the country’s bailout by the IMF. Much of the populist-fuelled opposition, on both the left (SYRIZA) and right political spectrum, repeated the claim prior to 2015, in a bid paint the first memorandum as unnecessary and as a manipulation.
An appeals court prosecutor in the case had again recommended that Georgiou face a trial.
Two summary acquittal rulings by appellate courts, were followed, in short order, by two appeals to overturn the former by the Greek supreme court prosecutor’s office – a back-and-forth legal marathon for the US-based Georgiou.
