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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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time
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092589
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09258900.033
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1990-09-17
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WORLD, Page 38GREECEOut of Office, Into the Dock?Papandreou is accused in the Koskotas scandal
In classical Greece the elected magistrates of Athens, called
Archons, held secret ballots to banish leaders when they were
accused of serious transgressions. Last week a similar process
began in the Greek parliament after two government commissions
recommended that criminal charges be brought against former Prime
Minister Andreas Papandreou. The panels accused Papandreou of
complicity in the Bank of Crete scandal and of ordering illegal
wiretaps. Parliament is expected to refer the charges to a special
criminal court.
The Bank of Crete scandal involves allegations by the bank's
owner, George Koskotas, that he systematically looted the
Athens-based institution of some $210 million, and then distributed
much of the money to high-ranking members of the Socialist Party
(PASOK), including the Prime Minister. The commission said it found
enough corroboration of Koskotas' charges, which he first made
publicly in exclusive interviews with TIME last March, to recommend
prosecution of Papandreou for bribe taking and receiving stolen
money.
Vyron Polydoras, the secretary of the commission investigating
the Koskotas charges, told TIME that while the case is not open and
shut, "events point to Papandreou." The PASOK members on the
commission had a different assessment. They issued a minority
report saying the evidence was insufficient and "fabricated."
Papandreou denounced the charges as a "settling of personal and
political accounts" by the conservative-leftist coalition
government that took office in July.
Papandreou was also accused by a second commission of running
an extensive wiretapping operation out of the headquarters of the
Greek secret service. According to the report, he routinely snooped
on political opponents, journalists, even members of his own
Cabinet.