Call for former ELSTAT chief to face criminal charges

A Supreme Court prosecutor on Monday proposed that the former head of Greece’s statistics agency ELSTAT, Andreas Georgiou, face trial on criminal charges of making a false statement as well as the misdemeanor charges of violation of duty that he already faces.

Criminal charges were brought against Georgiou in 2013 after ELSTAT employees accused him and other ELSTAT officials of artificially inflating Greek budget figures in 2009.

He denied the charges, which were dropped following an investigation. But he was indicted on misdemeanor charges in July. Monday's motion by deputy Supreme Court prosecutor Xeni Dimitriou called for him to also face criminal charges after all. The Supreme Court is to decide on whether to accept her proposal.