Georgiou's legal and court costs to be paid by ELSTAT

The Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) will pick up the bill for any legal and court costs incurred by its former officials, a provision of a draft bill submitted to Parliament Thursday stipulates.

According to the would-be legislation, the costs will be added to ELSTAT's budget and the statistics service would only avoid paying them if the former official is convicted.

The provision is designed to satisfy the demands of Greece's lenders in relation to the prosecution of former ELSTAT chief Andreas Georgiou, who has faced a series of legal battles following allegations that he inflated the country's 2009 deficit to justify an international bailout.

The draft legislation was tabled just a day after Supreme Court Prosecutor Xeni Dimitriou ordered the reopening of the case against Georgiou even though a Council of Appeals Court Judges ruled for a second...