Main opposition New Democracy (ND) party on Wednesday pounced on a same-day press report referring to eyebrow-raising claims by a former close associate of one-time Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis during the latter’s notorious six-month tenure in office.
Speaking at a conference on Monday hosted in Italy by Beppe Grillo’s populist Five Star Movement party, international finance expert Glenn Kim charged that the mercurial Varoufakis was preparing a “parallel currency” as shambolic negotiations in the first half of 2015 were reaching an impasse with institutional creditors.
Kim said the then Tsipras government was eyeing the printing of vouchers that would be distributed to civil servants as a percentage of their pay in euros, and for use in paying taxes and other government services. The vouchers would be similar to food coupons used in other countries.
“If there had been more time, it could have been implemented,” Kim was quoted as saying.
“Two years after a useless referendum, Mr. Glenn Kim, an adviser at the time to Mr. Varoufakis, and today to Mr. (Euclid) Tsakalotos, discloses new information about the circulation of ‘vouchers’, in place of euros. As such, he’s providing new dimensions over the crime perpetrated by the Tsipras-Kammenos government,” a ND statement read.
The press release also mentions the fact that Kim remains an adviser today to Varoufakis’ successor as finance minister, Euclid Tsakalotos.
