Former ELSTAT chief cleared of breach of duty

The former head of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), Andreas Georgiou, has been cleared of any wrongdoing for staying in his role at the International Monetary Fund during his first months as the Greek statistics chief.

Georgiou was accused of breach of duty after it emerged that he did not give up his job at the IMF for the first few months after he was appointed head of ELSTAT. Georgiou had explained that he retained his position, but not his salary, to secure his right to secure a pension for his work at the IMF.

However, some former colleagues, including Zoe Georganta, who has accused Georgiou of doctoring Greece’s deficit figures to justify the first bailout in 2010, accused the ex-statistics chief of retaining his IMF position to facilitate the signing of the first memorandum of understanding with the country’s creditors.

Officials from several international organizations, including Eurostat, testified in Georgiou’s favor during the case, which was heard by a misdemeanor court in Athens.

The claims against Georgiou regarding the doctoring of Greece’s 2009 deficit have yet to be settled even though an Athens prosecutor recently became the latest judicial official to recommend that the case be dropped.