News Summary: Greece weighs Swiss account scandal
News Summary: Greek Parliament weighs probe of ex-officials over leaked Swiss account data
Former finance minister Georges Papakonstantinou addresses to the Parliament in Athens on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. Greece's Parliament is debating whether to investigate four former senior members of the government including Papaconstantinou, over how leaked data on Greeks who banked in Switzerland was handled. All four deny wrongdoing. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
GREAT DEBATE: Greece's Parliament is considering whether to launch criminal investigations into two former prime ministers and finance ministers over the handling of leaked data on Greeks who banked in Switzerland.
THE PROPOSALS: Members are considering whether to investigate former finance minister George Papaconstantinou for allegedly deleting the names of three of his relatives from the list and for breach of duty. Some also want to hear from former finance minister Evangelos Venizelos and former prime ministers George Papandreou and Lucas Papademos. All four deny wrongdoing.
THE BACKGROUND: In 2010, French authorities gave Papaconstantinou a list stolen from HSBC bank of about 2,000 Greeks with Swiss accounts, for a potential tax probe. But no action was taken. When Athens requested a copy of the list from France last month, it emerged that three relatives of Papaconstantinou had been removed from the original.
