This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Property Of Submarine Bribe-Collecting Former Greek Defense Minister Seized For Tax Evasion
The following anecdote should probably explain why Germany is now ready to part ways with Greece, Lehman-like consequences be damned. As Kathimerini reports, former PASOK defense minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos has had one of his properties in central Athens seized, the same he is alleged not to have declared to avoid paying taxes. Yep - one of the top Greek political figures caught in tax evasion. And one thought such travesties only occur in the US. But wait there is more: this is the same defense minister whom the Greek Parliament voted in favor of indicting in connection with taking bribes for the purchase of submarines. As a reminder, "At least 120 million euros was paid in bribes by the German firm that struck a deal with the Greek government for the sale of four navy submarines, according to German court documents seen by Kathimerini....Two former executives of Ferrostaal, the Germany firm that was part of the consortium which won the contract, gave depositions in Munich concerning the kickbacks paid to secure the deal, which was worth just over 1.2 billion euros. According to court documents seen by Kathimerini, the first illicit payment of 32 million euros was made in May 2000. The money was deposited into a Swiss bank account but the two former Ferrostaal employees said they did not know who the recipient was. The executives said their main aim had been to win over a “top level” official in the Defense Ministry." Turns out it is the same guy who was concurrently engaging in tax evasion. And that is why Greece had a budget revenue miss of about the same amount as it paid Germany for its subs. It also explains why, as Germany will no longer receive payment for its subs, it no longer needs Greece as a mercantilist partner.
»
- 6424 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
You know you are screwed when there's less corruption in Greece than in America.
In Amerika its called one person (corporation) giving money to another person (dirty politician). Superpac bitches.
But corporations are humans too and we have "human rights" as well
Um, yeah...I think Ive covered this one but to add color...
Anyone know what happens when a whole nation takes payments from the government but doesnt pay taxes?
http://youtu.be/b3SR_yHWeX4 - complete fail
If corporations are humans and/or citizens then why are they given special treatment by the IRS? US citizens are required to pay US taxes on foreign income, even if the money doesn't come back to the US. US corporations are not required to pay US taxes on foreign inclome unless the money is repatraited.
Corporations give money to politicians, so they are deemed people when it comes to donating money, something else when it comes to being charged criminally, and something else, when it comes to paying taxes.
all the corruption happens offshore, (swiss accounts in this case).
it happens in the US of course, but american politicians are much
too wise to repatriate their bribery kickbacks on domestic soil.
like Romney and Gingrich, they keep it securely in the carribean.
you know this goes on with every public contract
..from national to State Govt right down to town Councils
Stop Paying (All) Your Taxes
starve the suckers
The Americans have always been as corrupt as the everybody else, Americans are just better at marketing themselves and what they're doing. After all, it was Americans who perfected the art of calling paid mercenaries 'freedom fighters', anti war activists 'terrorists', corporate welfare recepients 'job creators', ext.
Pour encourager les autre, no doubt.
http://everything2.com/title/Pour+encourager+les+autres
Dirty laundry time. Nice warm-up but I'm waiting for the Anglo version to begin.
Correct - the "Love American Style" version of the corrupt politico round-up will be starting once the govt checks stop coming -- so we still have time to go unfortunately. But we should all be taking notes by watching these other countries on how to sack a pig
And Greece needs four submarines for what purpose????? Oh yeah - to stop the German U-boats coming in to repo half the country!
To participate in WW3, of course.
Would you trust a submarine made by a potential enemy? I sure wouldn't. Okay Fritz we'll design this sub so that when the time comes we can activate a system shut down while they are deep underwater.
Right you are. The Greeks will sell the subs to Iran for three times what they are paying for them.
The submarines are also German. But since Greece has no industrial output to speak of, how the fuck are they going to participate in any type of prolonged conflict is beyond me.
they make a wonderful salad dressing
I think with the baltic Dry index so low...there are going to be a whole lot of new submarines........they won´t work very well...they will just sink....scuttled actually.....call the insurance man
All boats are submarines. They just haven't been tested yet.
So German companies were bribing Greek politicians to buy useless crap from German companies, and Germany is wondering how Greece got into this mess. Interesting, they pretend they did not know what was happening in Greece for so long.
They don' give a fuck. German arm dealers r always bailed out by their own sheeple.
( Hermes Bürgschaften ). Export of german military hardware rose 120% in 6 years. German Bundestag hasn't seen the details since 2008.
Siemens, Rheinmetal or EADS have a bunch of executives who'd like some greek island.
True, but the game is becoming a bit too transparent. I wouldn't want to be a German in Greece right now. Certainly not in the coming months or years.
Now the real question is, when are they going to start seizing the assets of John Corzine of MF Global, and all the crooks at JP and GS?
LOC * MART can better ...
Bribing the all fuckin' NATO states, selling them JSF-Tamagochi which falls apart even without flying.
Bullish Sukhoi :-)
I wonder who got paid off in canada's sub deal? those pieces of shit still aren't working several years later.
Good luck finding that out. The old "not waterproof wiring" in a submarine. Nice.
For what it is worth I would say the biggest threat to our sovereignty is Russian sub traffic under our icepack so I don't dispute the need compared to buying a bunch of overpriced fighters that can only be used to assist NATO bombing raids.
Even if they approve a new bailout, the Greek government officals are just going to steal it. Germans, you've got to know when to cut these people off.
Same problem is in Chimerica. Junkie needs the junk, pusher need the money.
I learn something new every day on ZH. Today I learned that Greece actually has or will acquire FOUR submarines, and I learned that Germany manufactures submarines. Why Greece is in the market for subs and why Germany makes submarines is still beyond my comprehension.
... learn about a fact about nuclear proliferation. Germany produced 6 subs for Israel, custom made with the lounch ramps for strategic nuclear weapons. Two of them given away as a "present" .
Oh wait, Israel doesn't have nukes. Wir sind fein raus .... alles wird gut ....
Is that a slight resemblance to Boris Karloff? Not just the voice of the grinch, but the whole thing.
Just start the "string them up with piano wire" , and we are going to need more piano wire.
Maybe it IS Boris Karloff. "Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Chancellor, who lived just north of Whoville - did not."
You know it must be nice to be a Swiss banker.......the trillions are just pouring in...accounts being opened 24 hours a day....
It’s got to be a bit tougher refuting receipt of a bribe when the ones accusing you are the ones who paid the bribe.
“Wait Akis, it was me, remember.”
According to French Media, Greece will buy its revamp of Navy from France! A big contract has been imminent and it riled Merkel- Sarkozy entente over last months. Now we have the low down! Hanky panky, under hand panty snatching of Defense Minister! Sarkozy wants what Merkel doesn't get; that is true Euro zone harmony at ze topp!
Anybody for a tango in Brussels? Maybe they also have Strauss waltzes on schedule, danced by Germany in backwardation and France in contango. What a team ! They do make a pair that Greeks can compare as French left hand shakes German right hand, and Greece shakes the other pair along with the lolly there.
We still don't know if Greece buys German or French sub-Brolly for getting its left hand lolly.
So in the EU the elites occasionally throw one of their own under the bus. I wonder what sort of kickback he get from that deal?
1981, P. Takis Veliotis, a former General Dynamics top executive at the Electric Boat division took off to Greece to avoid prosecution for allegedly taking $1.3 million in kickbacks.
Maybe they know each other.Why do Greeks need submarines? Olive oil storage?
If the submarines are made in Germany they're called "U-Boats."
Add to the submarines:
In short, they lent us money for us to buy their products or pay their companies for services in our own country, and thereby making their corporations and their banks richer. Now we actually have to pay them for the second time.
Now the German elite are realising that they cannot extract any more blood from Greece, and they don't mind to let us go. It will not make a big difference in their yearly income statements.
I'm afraid however that our own cast of clown politicians will NOT let go of the last opportunity to keep the fiat flowing from Europe and stay in their chairs for a few more months.
The Japanese have been doing the same thing to the U.S. for years. Who won World War II?
I'm trying to find the cheese mixed in with all your whine.
Are the Greeks a serious nation or simply a group of misfits that game everything... and cry when the dice they throw comes up snake eyes?
You are not making a case for foreign investment or any efforts to keep Greece from circling the rim as it goes down the drain.
The main reason Greece's GDP is heading down is the domestic market is transitioning into a bigger black market.
... Look, no taxes!
I always knew that Abe Vigoda was up to no good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-_rEqBaEE8
Seems like the potential consequences of Germany letting Greek go would be far worse than Lehman. Even if they wouldn't be it seems like a case of the devil you know vs the devil you don't know. My guess is they figure some secretive bail out coupled with a harsh crack down on wealthy Greeks. Maybe this is a harbinger of things to come for wealthy Greeks?
There is an international anty-corruption agreement and Germany hasn't signed it. So German corporations (persons) can bribe anyone in a world practically without punishment, and then even legally use that information to blackmail the receiver.
That is how system works - standard industry practice. Nothing to see here, move along.
Hey! It's only 10 percent........ Is that a lot? Relatively speaking :-)
The money was deposited into a Swiss bank account but the two former Ferrostaal employees said they did not know who the recipient was, however they were able to pick him out of a lineup which included Ian McDiarmid and Joseph Ratzinger.
"Mister Ten Percent", that masterpiece by the brainy German band Triumvirat, seems rather appropriate at this juncture...
(Jürgen:)
HANDS OFF, MISTER TEN PERCENT!!!
WE'VE GOT A GIG TONIGHT! HA!!
DO YOU THINK WE'RE GONNA PAY YOUR RENT?
WORKING FOR YOU 'TIL THE END OF OUR LIFE!!
YOUR STORIES OF SUCCESS AND FAME
HAVE TURNED THE EYES QUITE WET, YEAH!!
AND STRIVING FOR A BETTER LIFE...
WE FILLED YOUR MONEY BAG!!!!
(Helmut)
A big Mercedes
a house on a hill
a week in Sweden
and we're paying the bill!
We paid your dinner
But not for long,
as we get thinner
taxis, hotels,
so on, and so on...
(Jürgen)
HANDS OFF, MISTER TEN PERCENT!!!
WE'VE GOT A GIG TONIGHT! HA!!
DO YOU THINK WE'RE GONNA PAY YOUR RENT?
WORKING FOR YOU 'TIL THE END OF OUR LIFE!!
AT FIRST YOU TOOK TEN, TOMORROW IT'S TWENTY!!
THE MORE WE GIVE THE MORE YOU WANT, HA!!
HOW COULD YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE STILL A FRIEND??
IT MIGHT BE FIFTY IN THE END!!
Review an earlier post:
From finanial discomfort to great comfort.
Once upon a time, there was a purchasing agent at a prosperous company.
He visited relatives in Italy, then drove over the border to open a private account at Credite Swisse. The arrangement included a coded identity and agreement that anyone could deposit funds into his account upon presenting a secret code and a secondary account number.
Anyone could deposit without knowing the actual private acount number; Withdrawals were possible only by s/o with the coded identity and actual account number.
Back home, our purchasing agent arranged for more than 1 vendor to enjoy both hugely profitable sales and make deposits at CreditSwisse.
Yearly, he travelled to Italy/Austria/France, crossed the border and checked status of his account. And smiled. And returned home.
He enjoyed his job. He was a loyal and trusted employee. He retired early.
Buddy, you'll never know how many Risk Managers, et al, play likewise...always with OtherPeoplesMoney which always is tied to his own income in mysterious ways rarely made known to others.
And the smart banker, always, puts bennies [benefits] into the back pocket of his large depositors. And always receives bennies from placing funds [loans of OPM] into enterprises very "friendly" to him.
The bank, itself, be damned, except as a conduit for his personal income. Exception is made only for a banker who actually owns the bank and its equity.