Papaconstantinou to give evidence in trial

Ex-Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou will give evidence on Thursday in his trial for allegedly doctoring the Lagarde list of Greeks with deposits at the Geneva branch of HSBC with the aim of removing the names of his relatives.

?Tomorrow is the big moment, when the process reaches its conclusion,? judge Nikos Passos, who is presiding over the special court set up for the trial, said Wednesday.

Papaconstantinou?s parliamentary immunity was lifted so he could stand trial on accusations that he removed the names of three relatives from the list, which contained more than 2,000 names in total. The trial has so far lasted just over two weeks.

Piraeus University IT professor Sokratis Katsikas was among the witnesses to give evidence on Wednesday. He said if the computers which were used to copy the information on the CD handed over by French authorities to memory sticks had been checked in time, more information regarding how the names were removed and who may have done it would be available.

He said there was no point in checking the computers now as it is often the case that civil servants take or wipe their hard disks when they leave their positions.

A chartered accountant employed by Papaconstantinou?s relatives to check on the investigations carried out by the Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE) said the body failed to note in its findings that all the money his clients deposited abroad had been properly taxed.