Greece which is in its fifth year of depression, is looking into officials who help to hide poor finances from 2009. Greece got its first bailout in 2010 from the EU. Greek prosecutors are recommending charges be brought against the head of the statistics agency and two other employees for allegedly inflating the country's 2009 deficit.
The accusation stems from a 2010 revision which showed the deficit at 15.4% of the country's annual gross domestic product instead of 13.6%.
The revision suggested Greece's financial predicament was worse than had been thought. Greece received an international bailout in May 2010, but opposition was mounting against the spending cuts and tax increases demanded by creditors.
In 2011, a former statistics agency board member alleged the figure had been inflated to justify the austerity. Officials denied the allegation and said the revisions had been done according to European guidelines. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. (Guardian)
www.examiner.com/article/uk-to-ask-eu-for-reparation-of-powers
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