Court case of six TAIPED experts puts tranche at risk

The six former members of the TAIPED experts council accused in the case of the sale and leaseback of 28 state properties were granted unconditional release after testifying in Athens on Friday.

The six experts included three foreign technocrats appointed by the Euro Working Group: one Slovak, one Spaniard and one Italian. The main line of defense was that their role in the properties' sale and leaseback by the state sell-off fund was by definition that of a consultant.

According to a European official, unless there is some sort of assurance by the Greek side on their protection in one way or another, even the disbursement of the 7.5-billion-euro bailout subtranche will be at risk.

The disbursement requires the approval of the Euro Working Group, whose Slovak, Spanish and Italian members appear particularly annoyed by the court case and "no one knows what their...