Bomb threat at central office of National Bank turns out to be hoax

Police ordered the evacuation of the branch of National Bank off Syntagma Square near central Athens on Monday after an anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat which turned out to be a hoax. 

Members of the police's bomb disposal unit were dispatched to the scene to search for any suspicious devices but found nothing. 

The threat was made to police at 12.44 p.m. by an anonymous caller who said a bomb would go off at the bank branch within 45 minutes. The deadline elapsed without any explosion. 

It was unclear whether the initiative was linked in any way to ongoing talks between the government and banks related to the protection of the primary residences of indebted citizens.