Questions for Kokkalis
Businessman Socrates Kokkalis, founder and chairman of the Intracom telecommunications equipment, software and construction group, will be called to testify in a case brought against him in Switzerland by Russia’s National Sports Foundation (NSF) concerning the non-fulfillment of a contract to develop a Russian lottery system. In a letter dated March 4, 2002, Geneva investigating magistrate Marc Tappolet calls on Roger Mock, a lawyer representing NSF, to «submit to me the questions that you would like the Swiss ‘commission rogatoire’ to ask him.» Tappolet adds that «the role of Mr Socrates Kokkalis, of Athens, Greece, must be clarified, especially concerning the company European Games Ltd.» NSF alleges that it paid Swiss company Sectro SA the sum of $15 million in December 1993 as partial payment for the development of machinery and software for Russia’s lottery system. The contract was never fulfilled and NFS is demanding its money back, with interest, which would bring the total to around $22 million. European Games Ltd is an Ireland-based Kokkalis company which received the $15 million in a company account at Schroders Bank, in Switzerland. Sectro countered the NSF complaint, which was submitted on May 15, 1999, by showing an NSF letter purportedly admitting that most of the sum has been returned. NSF has disputed the validity of the letter, submitted in photocopied form, and sued, alleging forgery on April 4, 2001. Sectro still must produce the original.
