HSBC

Testimony in the high-profile trial of ex-FinMin George Papaconstantinou continued on Thursday with a former IT specialist at the finance ministry testifying on his cooperation with the one-time socialist politician.

Former finance minister George Papaconstantinou's office director Chryssa Hatzi took the stand on Wednesday to testify before a special court trying the former official for allegedly tampering with the so-called Lagarde list by removing his relatives' names from it.

Giorgos Papakonstantinou, a former Greek finance minister in the George Papandreou government between October 2009 and June 2011 has appeared in court in Athens Wednesday.

Former Greek finance minister George Papaconstantinou on Wednesday appeared in court for the opening of a criminal trial against him on allegations he removed relatives' names from a list of Greeks holding Swiss bank accounts in HSBC.

Former Greek socialist PASOK finance minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou stands before the court at 9 p.m. on Wednesday over charges of allegedly tampering with the Lagarde list that contained the names of more than 2,000 affluent Greeks with cash deposits at a Swiss HSBC branch.

HSBC has given its four problem businesses in Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and the United States as little as one year to prove their worth before ?more extreme? turnaround solutions are proposed, its CEO said on Feb. 23.

Former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou is expected to face a special court on Wednesday in Athens over charges of allegedly tampering with a list containing the names of more than 2,000 Greeks with cash deposits at a Geneva branch of HSBC in an effort to remove the names of three of his relatives.

Protests organized by the Bulgarian opposition are expected as lawmakers are beginning their session of a government proposal to take on fresh foreign borrowing worth BGN 16 M, or EUR 8 B.

HSBC published a full-page letter in British newspapers on Feb. 15 to offer its "sincerest apologies" for past practices at its Swiss private bank, which has been accused of helping clients to evade tax.

Amid the continuing fall out over the HSBC scandal, a journalistic project in Romania has named a key figure in the ruling party as one of those who held secret accounts in the Swiss branch of the British bank.