Giorgos Papaconstantinou

The former head of the Financial Crime Squad (SDOE), Yiannis Diotis, on Wednesday denied any wrongdoing in the handling of the Lagarde list and insisted that the memory stick he was given containing the names of Greeks with deposits in Switzerland had been tampered with before he got his hands on it.

On the second day of the trial of former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou, who is accused of tampering with the so-called Lagarde list of wealthy Greek savers, a prominent professor of constitutional law claimed that the charges have expired under the statute of limitations.

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.

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.

The former head of the Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE), Yiannis Diotis, is to be tried for breach of faith in connection with the so-called Lagarde list of Greeks with Swiss bank accounts, according to a ruling by the Council of Athens Appeals Court Judges issued Thursday.

A special court is due to begin hearing the case on February 25 against former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou, who stands accused of doctoring a list of Greeks with deposits in Switzerland and removing the names of three relatives. He also faces charges of embezzlement against the state.

The Supreme Court and Council of State provided Parliament Speaker Vangelis Meimarakis on Friday with a list from which the names of the judges that will preside over the special court for ex-Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou (photo) will be drawn.

Unless there are snap general elections, ex-Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou will stand before a special court by February 11 to answer charges that he tampered with a list containing the names of more than 2,000 Greeks with deposits at the Geneva branch of HSBC in order to remove the names of three relatives.

A Supreme Court judicial council ruled on Thursday that former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou should stand trial for allegedly tampering with an official document and breach of faith.

The felony charges relate to the so-called Lagarde list of Greek depositors at the Geneva branch of HSBC. The decision was reached by 4 votes to 1.