Fresh claims tabled against SYRIZA gov’t

In the latest allegation of wrongdoing implicating the previous SYRIZA-led coalition government, businessman Christos Kalogritsas has claimed that it was aware of a shell company he had set up with which to participate in a competition for television licenses in 2016.

In a lawsuit he filed yesterday with the Athens prosecutor’s office, Kalogritsas refers to an “agreement” he had with a Lebanese company, CCC, from which he received a letter of guarantee for 3 million euros to participate in the competition for TV licenses. He backed up his claim that high-ranking government officials knew of his illegal agreement by submitting documents and emails.

The Greek businessman said in his lawsuit that his company Toxotis had no business dealings with the Lebanese company, and that the letter of guarantee for the 3 million euros was completely bogus.

He said the agreement with CCC was signed by former minister of state Nikos Pappas to include the Kalogritsas group in the TV license competition.

He also claimed that after his group’s exclusion from the competition, Pappas instructed him to contribute the 3 million euros toward pro-government newspaper Documento.

The government yesterday called on SYRIZA President Alexis Tsipras to say if he knew about the efforts to set up a system to influence the country’s media.

Last month, Pappas was also was heard saying in a recording of a conversation that he had in 2016 with prominent Greek-Israeli businessman Sabby Mionis that the SYRIZA government’s alternate justice minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos was known for “making a lot of money” from backroom deals.

Mionis said yesterday in an announcement that Pappas was part of the extrajudicial racket.