Yesterday, one of the biggest Greek corruption scandals – the one with the German company “Siemens,” took an interesting turn. The former Siemens director in Greece Mihalis Christoforakos, charged with bribing for millions of Euros, in order to win public tenders, did not appear in court, where he was supposed to testify in front of the district attorney Nikos Zagorianos. Through his lawyer, Christoforakos explained that he is in Munich, where he is testifying in front of the German court and due to health reasons, he cannot travel to Athens.

On behalf of his client, the lawyer asked the testifying process to be adjourned with few days. The DA did not grant the request and he asked for a court order about the international pursuit of the former Siemens-Greece director. Mihalis Christoforakos had to testify about the circumstances under which in 1997 Siemens won the tender for digitalizing the centers of the Greek telecom OTE.

Prodromos Mavridis, former managing director of Siemens-Greece, who is charged with bribing and legalizing incomes from illegal activities, testified in front of the same DA for five hours. The DA decided that Mavridis has to be arrested. The former economy advisor of Siemens-Greece, who was also charged with the same accusations, testified in front of the DA as well. The man had to pay a ?700 000 bail, he is not supposed to leave the country and he has to report to a police station twice a month.