Former Prime Minister George Papandreou threatened legal action on Tuesday against anyone reproducing excerpts from a forthcoming book by former HSBC employee Herve Falciani, who claims Papandreou was blackmailed into signing Greece’s bailout. The title of the book to be published soon is “La Cassaforte degli Evasori” (The Safe of Tax Evaders). The former employee of the Swiss bank has leaked details of thousands of depositors, including names of Greeks on the Lagarde List. Excerpts of the book have been published in Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper. In the book, Falciani claims that Papandreou was blackmailed by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy into signing Greece’s bailout so details of a 500-million-euro account allegedly held by his mother in Switzerland would not be revealed. In the excerpt published in the Italian newspaper, Falciani claims that Margaret Papandreou had 500 million euros in HSBC. He also says that he remembers George Papandrou speaking of “pressure and blackmail.” “In 2011, the negotiations with the troika to rescue Greece were appointed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had the list in his hands and could exert pressure on Papandreou,” the Falciani book says. The former Greek PM issued a statement saying that Falciani’s claims are “contrary to the truth.” He also noted that such an allegation has been made before and that the Financial Crimes Unit (SDOE) has investigated the issue and confirmed in writing that Margaret Papandreou did not have such an account and the initials MP on the list belong to another depositor. He also stated that he will take legal action against anyone who publishes excerpts from the book.
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