Swiss banker Jean-Claude Oswald was detained pending trial after testifying on Wednesday before two Greek prosecutors on separate cases involving money laundering and kickbacks in armament procurement contracts. Oswald, a former officer of Dresdner and BNP Paribas banks, testified before corruption prosecutors Nikos Tsironis and Vassiliki Brati. He is also named in a third case involving money laundering over a contract between Greek telecoms giant OTE and German-based Siemens as well as a contract on submarines for the Hellenic Navy. The banker was arrested in the United Arab Emirates on an international warrant and has denied charges, saying he was unaware the money he was asked to deposit in Swiss and other banks on behalf of Greek clients came from illegal activities. In his testimony before Tsironis over armaments procured from German-based Wegmann, Oswald appeared to have promised he will look for and turn over a list of his Greek clients to investigators, although he noted that a company official serving under him, Fanis Lyginos, also a defendant in the case, had better contact with them. According to Greek media, he said he was not interested in the origin of payments deposited in banks and that the Swiss banking system has “loose rules” about its clients in order to provide services they cannot find in other countries. After completing his testimony before Tsironis, Oswald testified before Brati, the prosecutor for the Ericsson contract on radars. (source: ana-mpa)
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