Ex-party leader to see prosecutor on Tuesday over bribe allegations

Former Synaspismos leader Nikos Konstantopoulos will be questioned on Tuesday by a prosecutor investigating a newspaper report alleging that businessmen were intending to buy MPs votes for the presidential election in February.

Konstantopoulos was due to appear before Appeals Court prosecutor Panagiotis Panayiotopoulos on Monday but had to delay his deposition by a day due to other obligations.

Konstantopoulos has been asked to give his view after claiming in a recent interview that “pressure, promises, gifts and exchanges” are being used to convince MPs to support the coalition’s candidate for president, thereby avoiding early national elections.

The probe was launched after the leftist party’s spokesman Panos Skourletis referred to a report in Kontra News daily during a TV show.

Panayiotopoulos is also expected to call former Synaspismos leader Nikos Constantopoulos and the head of Independent Greeks, Panos Kammenos. Last week, Democratic Left president Fotis Kouvelis told the prosecutor that he had no evidence of MPs being bought.